Princess Idol: THE EDITED ENGLISH VERSION
by BEAFSTAKES
Summary: The quiet life of Seigaku's resident mamushi didn't began with a funny mistake and an accidental kiss. EDITED! KaidohOC
1. Prelude

**The Prince of Tennis Fanfictions**

Together with

**Studio Cabrera**

presents...

_**Princess Idol**_

**(formerly Kaoru and Kaoru's Circumstances)**

**THE ENGLISH VERSION**

by: BEAFSTAKES

**Disclaimer: **Prince of Tennis, High School Musical, KareKano, Wedding Peach, Macross, and Hanna Montana are all copyrights of their respective owners. This means it doesn't include me.

**BTW****: **This is the EDITED ENGLISH version of my POT romantic comedy fanfic. Whatever I've written here is the loose translation of the Tagalog version. And I say EDITED because I made a few changes in the story, you might notice it as you read. Yeah, this is also Kaoru and Kaoru's Circumstances, I just rewrote it and and made this version for the benefit of millions of readers around the world. My earliest version of this was a major flop, no one ever commented on it probably because it's in my native tongue, so I decided to rewrite the entire story and make a translation of it. Happy now? Oh, crap, forgive my angst, I'm just a bit disappointed on my first POT fanfiction, I'm just straighting things out. Please bear with me. And PLEASE...read, review, and for further questions, you can email me or visit my Multiply site or Livejournal account. Salamat!

**Prelude:**

**THE PROMISE IN A NECKLACE**

_Why are you crying?_

The little boy can't help but to feel worried on his friend's movements. At just tender age of four, it was astounding that he already understand the concept of anxiety. Though he feared to know, he still wanted to know about the girls problem because it's just normal for kids at his age to be curious about almost everything.

_...We're leaving..._

_Where?_

_Daddy says it's in Shinjuku..._

_Shinjuku...is it far from here?_

_Dunno...but it seems that...we won't come back..._

The little boy suddenly paused. What does she mean 'they won't come back'?

_...But why?_

_It's Daddy's work...so that he'll always watch over me..._

_You mean...you won't come back...ever?_

_No...I don't want to go... You're my only friend here..._

He slowly understands everything. And feels it. A sharp pain slowly throbbing his innocent heart. Surely he doesn't want those things to happen as to what his playmate was saying.

...And for that, his big, dark jade eyes can't hold the tears anymore.

_Please don't go... I don't wanna be left alone... I don't want us to be separated...because...because you might forget about me when me meet someday... And I might forget you, too... You don't want that, right?_

_No! No! I don't want that! It's scary!_

_Tell your Daddy...tell him to just stay here..._

_But I can't... That's bad...I can't say no to him..._

_Please don't go...!_

The little boy's heart just can't bear the pain anymore, so he cried like someone scolded him or harmed him. This time, the pain of being left by his only friend gave him too much hardship at an early age.

And to only ease the burden he was carrying so early, the little girl took off her gold necklace and she wore it around the little boy's neck.

_But...this is your necklace, right?_

_That doesn't matter. This will help you remember me always.. Just always wear that. So that I could still recognize you when we meet again sometime..._

_...And even though we're apart, we're still friends, right?_

_Yap! Friends forever!_

Later the little boy ask the girl to wait for a while and went hurriedly back to his house. When he came back, he has something big, round, shiny, and it's also gold. He gave the shiny object to the little girl.

_What's this?_

_Open it!_

The little girl opened the said shiny thing. Her big dark blue eyes opened wide and smiled as the soft music from the round thing welcomed her little ears.

_Kirei...!_ [1]

_That's from my oji-san._ [2]_ Take care of it, okay?_

_Your...oji-san?_

_...Promise me you'll always have that. If you're feeling sad, just open it. And when the time comes, just show that._

_Hm! I promise! We must promise to my necklace, too!_

The little boy raised his hand to state his promise.

_As long as I wear this necklace always, I won't forget you! I promise you that!_

_...You do?_

_I do!_

Then a man called the little girl. It was time to leave. Her tears started to fall again, but this time she didn't wail, but rather she felt relieved. Because of the little boy's gift to her, along with it is a promise that she will bring in her heart until years have passed. As the car gradually ran, she popped out of the window and endlessly waved to her only friend with her parting oath which, forever, engraved in the little boy's heart...

_We'll see each other again...that's a promise!_

-*00_00*-

NOTA BENE:

[1] _kirei _– beautiful

[2] _oji-san _-- grandfather

(**BEAFSTAKES: **I would like to ask if some can beta-read this for me. Well I want to improve my writing in English, so for those who are interested you can PM me here or email me at bipura_.ph. Hope to hear from you! And BTW... sorry if I only showed up after several months. I'm still looking for a goddamn job and my computer just gave up so I have no choice but to get used with computer rentals... :'( Once again, gomen nasai... And please read and review and try to read my original Tagalog version of this, too! Happy reading! ^_^ )


	2. Stanza 0

**Princess Idol: THE ENGLISH VERSION**

**by: BEAFSTAKES**

(**Ehem: **I don't own PoT except for the concept and original characters...)

**Stanza Zero:**

**THREE YEARS LATER**

**K**aidoh Kaoru.

Junior.

Class 7.

Seigaku Tennis Club Regular Member.

Known once as the great...

"BAKA MAMUSHI!"

(Tch, it almost got me...it's just the movie I'm watching...)

But it's weird that I miss that, as if I'm looking for someone to call me in that name—but don't get me wrong. I don't miss THAT guy at all. I never thought of missing him even a second.

I'm telling these things because it has been three years...since she came and changed my life.

I'm already in my second year at Seigaku High School Division, and man, I even didn't leave this school—except that it's a new department, new building, new faces, and no more lame old faces. And I'm not the only one who has been loyal to Seigaku and to the tennis club. Arai and his henchmen were here, too. In fact, he made it to the Regular Lineup this year along with Ikeda. Even some of our sempais were here, too. Fuji-sempai, for instance, became my teammate again and at the same time a bonafide member of Photography Club. Kawamura-sempai studies here, too, although he really did quit tennis to pursue his father's sushi shop business. Good thing Inui-sempai doesn't study here, but his school is just a few blocks away from here so we eventually see each other. I also often see him and Naegino-sempai together, yeah, they've been together for two years now and she's more beautiful than ever. Speaking of which, Kawamura-sempai told me that he's waiting for Hota's answer. Well I told him 'good luck' and if that happens, he would probably become the happiest sushi chef alive since Hota is a big sushi fan. I also heard from him that his sister has got a lot of suitors recently, but she answered none of them. Probably she's still waiting for Fuji-sempai. When will she ever give up?

Anyway, aside from those I've mention before, even Kawamura-sempai's sister is also here, even Kikumaru-sempai, Hota, too, and Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter and her bestfriend, even the Ichinen Trio. Amagari's two ladies-in-waiting studies here, too (and I even heard from Ikeda that Arai was dating one of them. That's fine, birds of the same feather flock together, anyway). One of them, I think it's Shimau, is in the lineup. All of them didn't quit tennis at all. But some of our old teammates were already gone, like Oishi-sempai who studies in their province, Makihara-san, and Echizen, they're already in the US to study. Amagari went back to Australia, and I heard her parents are finally together. Lili Chuu went back to her native China. She and Kikumaru-sempai are chatmates (and I bet he's courting her). Sohma and Momoshiro went to same high school as always, but not here—that's good, he wouldn't bother my peaceful school life anymore (though, tch, I admit, I miss him...). Of all these prople who went away, it was only Echizen who still has time to come back here for his vacation, mostly before fall.

I just got an email from Tezuka-buchou. He said that he'll come back from Germany a week from now for his vacation. He sucessfully got a scholarship there so he has been studying there, as well as continuing his tennis career, for almost three years. He was once given this opportunity before the Regional Tournament, I heard it from Sensei.

Ah...there's one person left that I didn't have news about...until I received her email just this morning...

_Hi, Kaoru!_

_How are you? It's been almost two years. You're now probably learning how to be human, eh? That's good, rather than you only think of tennis that you almost use tennis balls for your bath—just kidding._

Ever since she came, things have changed for me—for all of us. Some were awed, awaken, and inspired because of her and what she did to our team. I was affected the most...though I never wished for it. I never ever thought that it will happen to me, not even the slightest. It just came to me like a bomb. That was the weirdest, yet the most memorable Valentine's Day I ever had, it's just proof that even the likes of me have the right to have a happy ending. And ever since that happened, all the fortunes—and even misfortunes—came to me in a flash. And so...since she went to the States two years ago it seems like everything went back the way it used to be before she came. As time continues to progress in my surroundings... I was probably the only one who ceased to move on.

_Despite all of those things, I stll cannot forget the very first time we've met, on how you helped me, talked to me, and became my very first playmate and friend. I still have the thing you gave to me, and I do cherish it everywhere I go so that I won't be lonely..._

And here I am now. I've been the so-called lucky fan, the team captain, an accidental teen idol and all, but in the end I just ended up still a stupid mamushi. Everything just went back to...creepingly normal when she went away.

_And so... I decided to go back to Japan to see you. And this time...it's for good._

W-what? What does she mean she'll be back?

_I won't tell you the details of when I'll come back because I want to surprise you. You might get shock__ed if you see me in Seigaku days from now. I really miss you guys. I really want to go out and play tennis with you—only if we're complete. I also want to go back to Gakuland—this time only the two of us. Yep—since I know the fact that you're too shy to ask a girl out and you can't do anything about it, I thought that I'll just be the one to ask you—on a date, as soon as I come back._

Whatta—date!?

Oh, hell. She really wants to set me up this time. I don't know what and how to react about this. She's really full of surprises. Fine, I'm happy...so happy...but...what about the life she was longing for? She already attained it, but why does she want to give it up instead? If she returns here, she'll be feasted by controversies again. Paparazzi will follow her again and invade her private life! But she said that...she wanted to come back...because of me...

Yokatta... **[1]**

I really want to write to you, but first of all, I don't know your address there. Second, since I might find a hard time to write to you, you're probably aboard on a plane at that time. Emails and SMS have been invented years ago, you know? You don't even reply even for a day! Fsssh....

But if I only have a chance (and guts) to write to you now, I just want to say that I've learned. I learned to be contented because I know, wherever you are, I'm confident that you have finally got the life you deserved. But when you said that you'll come back, baka, you're still a martyr! But anyhow...I'm also like you..still. But still waiting. I learned that from you. I learned how to wait the hard way because I strongly believe that you will return one day...

And you finally make it come true.

_I really miss you, Kaoru. I'm looking forward to see you again. So does the team. Make sure to smile first before you meet me, okay?_

Because I know that you still can't forget the promise you made to me...thirteen years ago. And that promise makes me hang on to stay positive and keep on waiting for your return.

_I love you..._

I love you, too...

_With all the smooches,_

_Kaoru ^_^_

-*00_00*-

NOTA BENE:

**[1] **_yokatta _– I'm glad or That's good

(**BEAFSTAKES: **If you encountered some new names here, they are all mine, and you will meet them soon in the next chapters. Anyway, I'll post their stats soon but I have to upload the next chapter--but it will take me time since I still have to translate it. I shouldn't have to upload this yet since the rest of the chapters are not yet finished, but because of some reviews like of **firefly888**, it gave me the inspiration to upload this. Anyway, thanks for bearing with me!)


	3. Stanza 1

**Princess Idol: THE ENGLISH VERSION**

**by: BEAFSTAKES**

(**DISCLAIMER which I forgot to include in the previous chapter: **I don't own any of these: Prince of Tennis, Wedding Peach, High School Musical, Macross, Hannah Montana, KareKano. And it's not a crossover.)

(**BTW: **Sorry for the delay! I still have to translate this chappie so here it is! And just to remind you again that this might take long to upload a new chapter because of translation thingy, so please, parang awa n'yo na, por favor, onegaishimasu, BEAR WITH ME. I'll keep this alive as long as readers will follow it! Thanks in advance!)

**Stanza One:**

**FEBRUARY **

_Kaidoh's POV_

**T**he first of February.

For me, my days never changed. No day has been special to me. Even I tripped and fall in the sewer and be mistaken as a juvenile delinquent or even another player due to a mistake made by someone from Monthly Pro-Tennis Magazine that I know, I still consider my days as normal as it passes by because of my innumerable misfortunes, until I became used to it.

Since it's February, expect the snowfall, though it doesn't snow much in Tokyo during the month, but still it's freaking cold outside. And since it's the first of February, you'll also expect girls preparing for Valentine's Day though it's two weeks from there. It's just normal. Preparations for two weeks include searching for the best chocolate recipes, listing the ingredients, canvassing for the cost, the recipients, and other gimmicks. I know those stuff since Okaachan also follows the tradition. Her double chocolate cake is the best last year—only to be ruined because of Hazue's clumsiness.

But for me, February 14 is just like any other ordinary day, aside from girls who give me chocolates during the season. I hate to admit it, but though it's not obvious, I have a number of fans, but not as much as my sempais and Echizen. Especially that Momoshiro—yeah, yeah, when it comes to having a fanbase, he outnumbers me. But to hell do I care? I didn't join Seigaku Tennis Club just to be noticed. Besides, I'm also oblidged to give something to girls who give me chocolates every White Day. It's just a waste of time, if you ask me. But I just can't reject their gifts or they will only see me as a jerk.

Who the heck invented Valentines and White Day, anyway!?

When we say February, expect the exchange of vows, courtship, weddings, chocolates, even going to motels (why did I thought of that!?) and other silly, corny stuff. For me, February is a boring month, aside from being so corny. It's just like Christmas, where people only feel special if the day is declared special. I just can't get it, do people only give Chocolates in February? Do they only date people, or court them, or get married in February? Do they only fall in love in February? Do cacao plants ONLY grow in February? This just sucks. Having that kind of holiday was only started by our grandparents for unexplained reasons. But the truth is we only adopted that Valentines thing in our culture and we only added White Day to make it distinctive from others! Fssssh....!

But this doesn't mean I hate Valentines nor White Day. I'm just an ordinary human celebrating those days—my way. I just find it amusing. In my opinion, the reason why 365 days (or 366 whenever there's a leap year) were calculated a long time ago to make it convenient for us, humans, to do something far from the tradition, I mean, every day can be a special day without following those weird traditions and all. It's just fancying things, like humans establishing a mating season. That's creepy.

And so even the most special Valentines has passed by, even Christmas or New Year, I still consider it nothing but ordinary. They only become special because of tradition. But for me, won't be good if we cherish every passing day without considering tradition? Everyday can be Christmas or Valentines, like Mom's homemade cooking everyday.

-*_*-

When Seigaku became the Number One in the All-Japan Junior Tennis Tournament, we celebrated for almost a month. Kawamura-sempai's dad even closed the shop for us to rent for all day. But that afternoon too Echizen didn't join us, he have to fly back to America to finish his matches there.

The following month, Ryuzaki-sensei enlisted us to the Under 17 Tennis training camp **[1]** where the best players from middle school and high school were gathered for an intensive training for the next matches. Most high schoolers there were pretty much arrogant and freakingly weird, but hell some of them are strong and highly-respected as Yukimura, Sanada, Atobe, even Tezuka-buchou and Echizen. Speaking of Echizen, he even caught up to join the camp, and we only realized that the US Open was already over, he beng the champion, as usual. Good news (for some) was that he'll still be able to stay in Japan for more months since his father let him finish his first year in Seigaku, at least.

Then our usual practices resumed. The seniors are still with us, except Kawamura-sempai who officially quit tennis to pursue his dream of becoming a sushi chef like his father, though he's still there to support us. Ranking Selection followed. The Seniors are now not eligible for regularship since they have to prepare for their high school entrance exams. During the Summer Ranking Selection, it was the freshmen's turn to shine. In fact, two of the Ichinen Trio made it to the line-up: Mizuno Katsuo (I was a bit surprised when I found out he's actually blonde) **[2]** and Kato Kachiro. Probably because they made Echizen their inspiration and since they put what they had learned from their sempais and Sensei by heart, they were able to surpass the other members, including their own leader, Horio Satoshi, whom I cannot tell in details because he sure sucks big time. Kato was paired with Arai in their first official match **[3]**, and with their score of six to three in favor of them, that's not bad after all. They would probably become the next Golden Pair if they polish their harmony in the future. Mizuno, meanwhile, conquered singles tournament for his first time.

I can't tell if that Horio would progress. He's stuck in his boasting two years tennis experience. But I can't help but to admire the Ichinen Trio, they're still solid friends despite two of them became Regulars already.

So when the first of February came, the new Regular lineup includes me, Momoshiro, Echizen, Arai, Ikeda, Hoshino, Mizuno, and Kato. At first it was a strange lineup since most of us were first-timers in an official match, so the mission of the remaining originals was to guide them for their first and succeeding tournaments. That time, we were preparing for a friendship game against Saint Icarus from Nagano **[4]**, they're one of the best in Chuubu region. They went to Tokyo for their training camp.

You see, the first of February, for me, is nothing but ordinary. Everyday I'm expecting unexpected things like anytime I could fall on a sewer again, anytime I could be killed by Inui-sempai again, anytime that stupid peach will bug me again, anytime someone will mistake me for someone again, aside from my usual trainings. The only thing which isn't constant is Mom's homemade cooking. Nah, I don't expect things in me to change anyway, I'm used to my monotonous, painful life. Besides, this is much better, no one will follow you, no one will spread rumors about you, because you're only doing what is common to their eyes. At least I can say I'm still your average guy...

Or at least I thought.

-*_*-

"EI, MAMUSHI!!!"

My first of February began with Momoshiro's big mouth. Practice was over at that time. I was about to go home without changing into school uniform because I was in a rush when I saw him running towards me with something thick in his hand. I though they are waivers for our upcoming training camp—but what I was concerned about is that it will be our game two weeks for now and we don't even have time to undergo such camp.

"Do you really intend to throw this you moron?" he's more of a moron than I am.

I didn't answer immediately—but what he has has on his hand was enough for me to be surprised. I was so stupid to think they are waivers, especially if what he has on his hand...

...is my own English notebook which was important to me since we have a test on that the next day.

I immediately took it from him and didn't bother to thank him. Yeah fine, good thing he found my notebook or hello F on my report card, but of all people who can find it, why it has to be him!? And since I'm in a hurry for my own business, I just took it from him without a word.

"You won't thank me?" he even asked me.

"What do you expect? I'll apologize?"

"You're such an ungrateful mamushi. You should be thankful someone bothered to give your notebook back or you've been looking it for ages..."

"Ok, thanks alot for that... Happy now?"

"Man, you're being klutzy nowadays..."

"I just got it from you."

"Are you telling me I'm a klutz!?"

"And why not? Can't you still believe that you almost lost your bike keys last time **[5]**? If I didn't bother giving that back, you're probably walking home until now!"

"Well I didn't expect it and I never expected it, and I won't appreciate it especially if you're the one who brought it back!"

"Same here! Now who's talkin'?"

"You're really an ungrateful mamushi..."

"And just when!?"

"That's why everybody hates you because you don't even know how to say 'thank 'you'..."

"If only for the likes of you, NO, THANK YOU."

"And that's why no girl ever takes you seriously..."

"I have no time for those things!"

"Oh, really...?"

"Sorry, but I'm not like you who's so full of himself and full of trouble..."

"I can give to you some of my troubles if you want..."

"Bring it on, peach..."

"You go first, snakeboy!"

"WHAT'S GOING ON!?"

We both looked behind us to see who called us. I felt nervous as I thought it was Buchou. To my relief, it was Oishi-sempai who came. If happened that it was Buchou, he wouldn't probably let us go home until we finish 100 laps he'll require us to do.

"You've been heard even from Sensei's office," he scolded. "What's going on here? Why don't you still go home!?"

"S-suman..." **[6] **we apologized.

"That guy there," the peach pointed me, "is so ungrateful..."

"Maybe it's you," I chimed in.

"I'm just helping him, for Pete's sake yet he even can' utter a simple word of appreciation! It's a good thing I found that on a nearby bench..."

"Is that true?" Oishi-sempai turned to me. For some reason I even can't look at him nor answer him straight. That was Momoshiro Takeshi's fault. Probably when he's through of us, I thought of giving him a piece of my mind later.

But at that moment I have no choice but to admit it. "Y...y-yes, sir..."

"Kaidoh, that's not right. You should learn how to appreciate things people do to you. If Momo didn't find your notebook, or even someone, how can you catch up with your lessons? You have to be careful next time."

"G-gomen..." I felt my shame six feet under, especially when I heard that peach snickering at me. How dare he humiliated me like that!

"As for you, Momo..."

"H-hai?" as least I'm still lucky...

"If you're trying to return something, make it straight to the point! Just return it quietly and don't mumble about it! That's why he can't appreciate it because of that attitude of yours..."

"H-hai," serves you right, "s-sumimasen..."

Minutes later, "Hey, Oishi!"

Kikumaru-sempai called him. They're going home together. They've been like that, sometimes with Buchou. They're studying together for the exams. Though they've not been that active since they're graduating, it seemed that they used to go home together. It's good since they've been doubles partners for a long time, and they'll be graduating a month for now. No one, not even them, knows for sure if someday they might end up being schoolmates again or one of them will go away.

Oishi-sempai waved back at him, signaling that they should go. But before he left us, he added one last scolding:

"You still have practice tomorrow, right? Head straight home, don't stay up late, okay? Ja!" and he followed Kikumaru-sempai. We both bid them goodbye.

After that, I went straight away without talking to him. So does he, like nothing happened. This is my notebook's fault!

He shouldn't just return it in the first place...

That is why for me every day is just another ordinary day, either it's a legal holiday or even my own birthday because for Kami's sake nothing has changed in me and my everyday life. There's no day—no, no second that Momoshiro and I don't argue even with the smallest things. I don't know. Despite that we've been graduated a long time ago, I don't get why I hate him—and so does he to me. In my case it's self-explanatory: he hates my face, he hates the way I train, and he even hates my own brand of determination. That's his problem, not mine. Nor I even don't care if people or a certain someone will call me 'baka mamushi' everyday (and that peach started it all!), I'm used to it, anyway. That's better than being infested by a number of stalkers and such like a celebrity, at least I have the privacy I wanted...um, a bit. How about him? One word: ARROGANT. He's so full of himself that I even though he's one puny freshman the first time we met.

That's probably how rivalry runs in our case. We invade even each other's private lives just to be ahead of the other—but don't think I'm that shallow to invade his life for the sake of being the strongest. I have my own way and I'll just leave him alone. Since first year we're competing each other on who will take the Regular's spot, though there are many potential rivals since there are are so many of us in our batch who registered in the tennis club. But of all of our batchmates, I'm only after Momoshiro—and so does he. It's not the issue whether we grew up in the tennis club together, probably it all started when we both made it to the lineup. Seriously—if he hates me, I hate him, too! End of discussion. Frankly, he's still mada mada dane...

See? I even uttered Echizen's line because of that peach. Why did he crossed my mind in the first place, anyway...?

But despite our extreme rivalry, since we almost grew up together in the tennis club, we learned to respect each other. I learned that there are some things that only Momoshiro could do—and so do I. There are things in us that only we could do, that's probably the reason Ryuzaki-sensei tried to pair us for the first time against Saint Rudolph during the Regional Preliminaries. During our partnership, even for a bit I learned to respect the way he does things—and probably, so does he. We also learned from each other and eventually we used what we have learned during the semifinal round of the National Tournament **[7]** (which I'm trying to forget because of certain people we've met who almost gave us a nightmare). I just remembered during that day when Momoshiro was able to used my Tornado Snake and I was able to do his Jack Knife—and until now I still can't believe what we did there. We didn't fully realized that we're starting to gain each other's respect because of doing each other's moves. Looking at the bright side, that's good, at least I could also say that something has changed in my life. Both of us matured in some way, probably because at that time we'll be in our last year in junior high so we're exercising our respect to each other in order to be respected by our kouhais and our future subordinates, too.

But seriously, he's the one starting everything!

See? Even a certain Kaidoh Kaoru can think of these things as well. I'm also your darn average student like everyone else: studying, cramming, asking things (especially what will be for supper), dreaming. Although I'm aware I'm living a monotonous life, at least I'm also aware that my life can't be on tennis forever; unlike a certain someone I knew who, aside from his pet cat, he only cares nothing but tennis that he could use that as answers for a test (by the way, how's that cat doing now?). It's always a misconception that varsity players are only good at one thing as brainiacs and yuppies do. For crying out loud, I'm also a human, I know how to dream! I also have goals i life. I also thought what if I didn't end up being a tennis player. It just happened because I admit I'm one sickly kid back then. I was born sickly; every month I have a fever. And I don't want to go back to those days that I'm bed-ridden and always wailing for my mom. I chose tennis because I believe it's more than just an individual or team sport. I chose this to measure how and how much I could endure in such pressure. And I believe tennis is more than just a challenging sport.

Dakara **[8]**...because of my utmost focus to make myself strong, I didn't realized I'm doing it too much...until my body used to it like a vice. For that people say the same things about me—but I don't care about that anymore. As for me, as long as they won't bother me, we can get along well.

And this confession of mine is just one proof that I'm also a normal being who rides on with the flow of time...like the time I was in a hurry to go home worried that my brother won't do what I'm telling him to do where my grade in Biology was at stake.

-*_*-

"And CUT!"

The director signaled for a break after finishing one segment of an afternoon variety show. Each guest approached their young and cute host with kisses, waves, and shake hands, and small talk. She looked like a modern version of Snow White with hair black as ebony, lips red as cherry, skin as white as snow. The only things in her which looks a bit weird are her eyes: they're shocking pink, but big and beautiful like those of a doe. How did she got those irises is now not ours to know.

She is a living doll in her frilled dark pink bolero and cream straight ruffled dress reaching above her knees, and wears high-cut pink boots. Her wrists are adorned mostly of 80's style bracelets. Her cream velvet ribbon that ties her long, wavy hair matches her dress. With her cute, bubbly smile she can wear almost anything and they will fit her well. Her natural beauty shines even with minimal make-up.

The guests bade farewell to their host, they who are also as famous and good-looking as her. They kissed her and shook hands with her as their sign of appreciation for inviting them in her show. After that, the host went back to her dressing area for her retouch, but...

As she turned back, her smile slowly disappeared, so does her cheerful image. She had probably noticed it firsthand, or she just knew it, that celebrities are just the same, wearing masks in front of their fans for their enjoyment.

As the make-up artist patted the blush-on brush on her face, an executive-looking woman came to her. She's neat from head to toe: her neatly-combed hair touching her shoulders, neatly-pressed blazer and slacks, well-shined shoes, and her glasses completed her strict careerwoman image. She has some papers and a PDA **[9] **on her hand. When she noticed the young idol a little cold-faced, she cannot help herself but to sigh.

"You're grouching again," she said. "I know you're tired, but we're almost there. This will be today's last segment and after this, you can have a full rest..."

"That's not it, Usui-san," the idol answered. "I'm tired...but..."

The woman she called Usui-san immediately got what she meant, so she immediately dismissed the make-up artist so that they could talk privately.

"Dear," she picked up a chair and sat beside her, "we've talked about this earlier. Are you aware of the circumstances if..."

"I made up my mind," the girl replied. "I need a break."

"It's not that I'm against it, Kaya-chan, but in my honest opinion, you'll leave all your commitments if you'll go on. Besides, you're at the height of your career! Once you leave showbiz, the next day you know, you're history!"

"But I didn't become an idol only to be famous. Isn't an idol's job to entertain people?"

"That's my point. If you're not famous anymore, no one will come and watch you even you put your effort to entertain them! Do you get what I mean? I'm just worried about you..."

"But having a break doesn't mean I'll quit. I just want to...

Resume my search..."

The manager finally calmed down when the idol spoke about searching for something. She also knows about it. So she just held the girl's hand. "Do you really want to...look for him? You'll leave temporarily for that?"

"I've told you already. I promised to myself that I won't stop till I found him. My career is just my way to look for him, so that if he sees me on TV...and recognizes me...he'll come to me for sure. But of course, I also want to do something about it."

"So there's no problem at all! If that's only the case, you don't need to sacrifice your career just to look for him! Now that you're here..."

"Demo, I have this feeling that he's just somewhere looking for me, too! Usui-san...I have no intention to quit being an idol. I'm enjoying it. All I want for now is...go back to school while waiting for the concert. We're almost done for our preparations, we're just waiting for our lucky fan to show up, so I still have plenty of time. It's okay to look back to fix things and do things I've never done before, right? For the past two years, I almost have no time for myself. I want to be free even for once without affecting my career. And besides...

There are still some things that I left before I entered showbiz..."

Usui also knows that matter, and it only made her feel pity on her talent because it seems that she is also aware of the hardships Kaya faced before she became the idol she is now.

Seconds later, "We'll be back on-air in two minutes!" the director called.

They haven't noticed the time they have spent in their conversation that almost took them several minutes until they realized that they'll be on air in two minutes or less. However, there are still some things Usui want to say to Kaya before she could go back to the set, though after their taping they will have extra time talking about everything.

"I'm not against your plans, whatever thay are, but there is only one thing I'm asking you: be careful. You know the consequences, But I can still trust you because that's what you want. As your manager, it will be also my responsibility if something happens to you there. If something bad occurs, you can always come back..."

"But you know me. If I decided on something, you know that I'll do it and I won't quit until I do it. And another thing," as Kaya held her manager's hand tightly, "I know I can trust you, too. Of all the people, you're the only one who knows about this. I can do this without flaw as long as we keep it secret."

"Ok, Kaya-chan, you can count on me. Just do your part, too, ok?"

The idol nodded, as her smile came back.

"One minute!" the director came for the final call.

The two rose together. Kaya fixed herself before returning to the set. But before she could come back, Usui gave a final advice.

"Two week for now and it will be your major concert," she said while brushing her talent's luxurious bangs. "You must fix everything as soon as possible before anything else come to trouble. The whole Japan mustn't know about this, is that clear?" ans she gently pushed Kaya to the set, where a pink box on top of the high stand is waiting for her. "Your future lucky fan is waiting for you. Good luck!"

It has been 40 minutes since they held a break. Kaya tightened her ribbon on her hair and attached a small microphone on her collar. A make-up artist rushed to her for a final retouch. The propsmen fixed the set in a flash. Cameras started to roll. A signal from their director is their cue to finish their taping and wrap up before the end of the day.

"Ready for the last segment of Kaya Supershow! Camera rolling in five...four...three..two..."

-*_*-

_Kaidoh's POV_

"HAZUE!!!"

"Ohmygosh...!"

Because I was in the hurry, I completely forgot to greet Okaa-chan as I headed upstairs. At that time I was concerned with what I ordered to my younger brother to record a certain documentary on Channel 12 for our Biology report, so that everything will be ready when I come home and I'll just play it. But what concerned me most was if he did it, or if he really did it, I hope he did it right.

I found him in his own room, playing PS2, as usual. Sometimes you just can't get an answer from him seriously if his face is on TV and holding a joystick. I just hoped that he really did his job before doing his own business.

"Oi!" I called him. "Did you do it?"

"Yeah," he answered while still playing, "it's in my bed. 100 percent recorded."

"Yosh," and the moment I found the CD in his bed, I didn't waste my time picking it and played it in HIS VCD player without warning. I turned off the PS2 first before I loaded the CD. I intend to do that just to make sure he won't escape if I find the record wrong or so.

"Ain't you that rude?" so what?

"I just want to make sure," I said.

"But you have your OWN player, Dammit! Why don't you play it there!?"

But I didn't answer. When I played the CD, well, it worked, but still waiting to process the video. I even thought that he finally did it right, so I just can't help but to be nervous at it. It took the video seconds to display it on screen.

And eleven seconds had passed...

A scene of a beach appeared on it. It's beautiful. Clean. The sand's white and seemed powdery. It looked like a virgin beach as in no one ever discovered it. Such a paradise. And I even thought it's the introduction to the documentary our teacher required us to watch, but then I remembered...

What he was requiring us was a documentary about the ecosystem of South American rainforests. I was sure about it. I even checked that day's program schedule on their website but sadly I can't make it because of practice. I also thought they might changed the program lineup without prior notice.

My suspicions got stronger when I saw a girl on the shore. I admit, she's beautiful, sexy, and wears a white bikini. Looked mature to me. Seeing that girl, I almost slapped myself and even Hazue for failing his job, but still I just hoped that he might caught a cigarette or wine or tourist spot commercial or any commercial concerning women in swimsuits by mistake. Baka otouto.

Minutes later a man showed up chasing her. His hell of a body looked liked being possessed by Arnold Schwarzinegger (A/N: did I spelt it right?). He chased the girl like the usual scene in certain movies my mother watches where two lead characters chasing by the seashore, laughing, and when the man caught the woman they'll just roll to the shore until their bodies covered in sand while kissing each other passionately. I know it sounds corny, but I just can't help thinking about it.

But that's not the scene I was expecting. It seemed like the woman in the film looked scared as she was chased by the man, while the man looked excited. The moment he finally caught the woman, he started kissing her everywhere, oh creepers. At first she tried to struggle to make herself free, but the moment the man reached her lips, she finally gave in. I just thought that was it, and I even thought that Hazue stupidly included a movie trailer in the recorded clip...

My body suddenly felt hot at the next scene.

(A/N: Parental guidance is advised.)

The man took off the woman's swimsuit one by one as the kissed...until they were both naked lying on the sand while doing their thing without worrying if someone might see them...and...

Why in the name of God am I talking about that!?

I was just shock at what I've seen. I can't close my eyes nor cover my face with a pillow nor shut the player off even I wanted to. I felt electrocuted or even being under a petrifying spell then. I felt I was hypnotized by that hellish video. I failed to notice my cheeks burning hot like a roasted tomato. In my mind I already want to snatch Hazue's head and bang it on the TV monitor till his head goes in because my rage, and even, my humiliation, because THAT'S NOT THE CLIP I'M ORDERED HIM TO RECORD, DAMMIT! How could he shamed his own brother like that!? I thought he understood every word and every letter I told him!? He's so darn young for those kind of crap and he even wanted me to be with his obscene advocacy!

Especially when...

"Kaoru-chan! Hazue-chan! Dinner is ready! Just do that---

OhmyLORD!"

"HAZUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I shouted ahead of Okaa-chan. It would be more problem if I'll be framed, but hell, I have nothing to do with it! He just dragged me to hell! That baka kodomo is also a perverted twerp! But he just scratched his head and acted in front of me like there's nothing wrong with what he did. Great...

"What's wrong?" the innocent even asked. "Is there any..."

"THERE'S NO PROBLEM, thanks a lot!" I roared. "Are you making crap out of me!? HUH!? Why're y'makin' me watch that trash, HUH!? Do you think I'm that sort of a dirty old man, I'm even NOT that old yet, d'aho **[10]**!"

"D-demo...Onii-chan..." and he even showed to me one hell of a scandalous DVD as his proof, "t-this is what you told me to..."

"And WHY the hell I'll point to that!? That's what happened if you don't pay attention and you just sticking yer face on the monitor the whole afternoon! I told you to do THIS first! And by the way..."

"Where did you get that!?"

Someone joined me at my interrogation. My brother and I suddenly froze—especially me. We know that voice so well that my brain was cursing non-stop asking myself on what time he just arrived.

"O...oya...ji...?"

"I'm asking you," he's pissed and at the same time...he's darn drunk.

My hentai brother tried to answer, "Uh...in your...r-room..."

"Did I just told you," he suddenly pinched Hazue's ear (serves him right!) "NEVER EVER dare to come to your parents' room without permission!? That curiosity of yours will just lead you to pick random things from there!"

He's busted.

"D-demo...Onii-chan said to record this for him..."

And he even showed that bloody DVD and framed me so that someone will share his fate. Oh great. Just great.

"Did I even tell you..." I tried to reason out, but...

"So YOU'RE BEHIND THIS!" Dad also pinched my ear that he almost took it off, and it's all Hazue's fault. "You're older and yet you're leading this kind of obscenity! What in the world are you teaching to yer brother!?"

But I'm the victim here, for Pete's sake! Why does the blame hafta be thrown on me!? "But Dad, I don't know about that! I promise! I just told him to record one show on Channel 12 but..."

"Are to talking back to me, boy!?" he almost pulled my ear off. "How old do you think are you for this things, huh!? You're not yet even reached legal age! You're still too darn young to ruin your future for this! Why...!?"

"But Daaad..." I tried to explain, "I'm telling you I don't know about that!"

"Admit it, Onii-chan," that midget grinned at me, "you enjoyed it, right?"

"Why..." and I just saw Mom's face in shock with what she saw on TV and with what happened. "I thought we're one perfect happy family...?"

That's my 'perfect' family. Oyaji's the chief banker. Strict, dedicated, but one dirty old fool. Mom's the housewife, the best cook in the world and one loving mom. There's nothing to complain about her, except if she's in shock with some things. And Hazue? He'll be about to graduate form elementary school at that time. He can take a job easily—and then ruin it. And so instead of only him who's to be blamed everytime our dad catches us, he'll just easily drag me. You see, we are a happy, perfect family—but all crazy. In the eyes of some people, they say that we are an perfect example of a model family, but the truth is we also have disadvantages in our own character and secrets which are best kept in the closet. This is just one solid proof that nothing's perfect in this world...

And I still don't understand why I was born in such a family...

-*_*-

_BS's POV_

"Tadaima!"

"Okairi, Takeshi!" the spiky-haired teen's mother greeted. "You're just in time, dinner's almost ready. Wash your hands and call your brother and sister upstairs."

"Yes, Mom!"

Momoshiro Takeshi did came just in time for dinner since he has been starving for hours. He didn't take his snacks today like he used to do. His supposed-to-be date, uh, snackmate suddenly disappeared when he was about to invite him for some burgers like they usually do after practice.

It's a good thing he came home early, he can still catch up to his favorite TV show: an afternoon variety show hosted by a young and beautiful budding teen idol. But it would be a waste to skip dinner just for a TV show, he has no choice this time. His mom prepared dinner so early that he thought his father came home early today.

He hurried upstairs to his siblings' room to call them for dinner, and at the same time to grab the opportunity to watch TV by himself. His own TV set broke just yesterday playing Playstation and watching DVDs the whole day.

"Takumi! Tsuki! **[11]**" he called his brother and sister, respectively. "Dinner's ready!"

"Just a sec, Onii-chan!" the middle brother, Takumi, asked for a few minutes. "We're just waitin' for somethin'!"

"There's time for that. The food can't wait for whiners like you! By the way, have you done yer homework?"

"Just an hour ago!"

"You just want to have our TV all by yourself," the youngest and the only girl, Tsuki, stuck her tongue.

"You have your own TV," Takumi added, "why can't you watch there?"

"What the...?" his face distorted in irritation being outspoken by his own brother. "hey, I'm serious! Mom said we have to go down and eat or she'll be angry!"

"LATER!" the two chorused.

"We'll go after this," Tsuki guaranteed. "It'll only take a matter of seconds!"

"What the heck are you waiting for there, anyway?" Takeshi asked.

"Forget it," Takumi scowled. "A man like you who only thinks about tennis won't understand..."

"You're stereotyping things, you know that? Doesn't because we're tennis players all we could only think about are our rackets! We're also ordinary students who know how to sleep and eat and study! But I can recommend you one person who does the opposite, since all he could think about is tennis and probably his cat..."

"Why? Do we know that guy?"

A few moments later the cue music for the show started to play. As its set welcolmed them, it made Takeshi's eyes popped out now that he learned that there is only one TV show that he know with that kind of intro, especially when the cute host showed up...

*Konbanwa, minna!*

He slapped himself in disbelief. "Holy crap," he swoon. "Why didn't you tell me..."

And he immediately settled himself in the middle of the two kids as if he's also waiting for that show as well, which even made them irritated. "Hey!" Takumi scowled. "Find yer own place, big guy!"

"Just go on downstairs," Their own older brother shooed them, "I'll tell you what happened later..."

"You'll just sneak in!" Takumi scowled.

"You just can't use OUR TV by yourself!" Tsuki added.

Their suspicions only made Takeshi scowled, too. "I told you to go first!" he shooed.

*As I promised, the cute TV host went on, I'll pick up our Lucky Fan who just submitted his postcard entry and he'll receive a free VIP Pass plus an after-concert date and guess what, a special appearance where he or she can join me onstage in my upcoming Valentine Concert entitled "Virgin Love Live **[12]**" as my token of gratitude to all of you who supported me all along!*

Their aniki grinned which made the two others suspicious.

It's not on Momoshiro Takeshi's style to be a fanboy, but he is and is proud of it ever since he heard Kaya's first ever single on the radio for the first time and even seen her on her first commercial. He instantly fell in her charm and her music. He knows every song and every commercial line she says (and imagining him singing her songs might make you laugh...). He followed her way to stardom through her official fansite, the reason why he knew about the raffle draw and was excited about her upcoming concert this Valentine's Day. He even joined the raffle draw by creating the cutest postcard he could create and submitted it to the show. Actually having the cutest postcard is not the basis, as long as your entry will be picked and you'll be lucky.

Thus it only made the stupid little peach more excited as he imagined himself being the Lucky Fan Kaya picked. But he also realized that not only he who wanted that kind of opportunity in their own household. Two of them are in the same room with him, watching and waiting with him. He then realized that they are just waiting for the same variety show.

"Wait a minute," he suspected, looking at them simultaneously, "Don't tell me..."

But none of the two kids answered him. They just stucked their noses on the TV screen as if they are waiting for their idol Kaya to come out of the screen, herself...

-*_*-

_Kaidoh's POV_

After that hellish shame Hazue and I were both punished by our hentai oyaji. We don't have dinner and we're even grounded for watching TV the next day. It was unfair in my part being the victim yet I was dragged, too, in one's fault. They didn't even thought of their own son, being a member of a sports club, that he needs adequate nutrition and must eat three times a day to be fit for the next day! Crap...

"Meow."

Someone knocked on my room window. I hurriedly opened it because there's only one person—uh, I mean _animal_ who could knock on my window and call me like that—My pet kitten, Howalon **[13]**. Howa-chan for short. Uh, technically she's not my pet, since no pets are allowed at our house. Mom's allergic to fur, so even though I really wanted a pet of my own, I can't have one so instead I hid Howa-chan in my veranda. I made a cushion there to keep herself warm especially during post-winter months, I even change it every two weeks to make sure she's clean, and I sew her bed myself. It was almost a month when I found her freezing in the sewers, she was still a poor newborn. I suspected that her mother abandoned her. I though she wouldn't make it when I was in panic looking for something for her to feed and I ended up calling Echizen for help.

She was just a month with me and she grew FAT so fast. She's like that peach who east everything—including garbage. Yeah, _including_ garbage.

I gave her the remainder of my sandwich that I brought before practice. She ate her heart out. As I watching her eat, I can't help myself but to envy her which only made my stomach growl more. Good for cats like her, they eat anything without complaint, they are scolded only when they scratch something, and aside from that they only sleep the whole day. They can also stay anywhere they feel cozy. Seems like cats are born without having problems at all, especially if they eat, for them it's enough to stay alive. How about humans? For some who never ran away from homes in their entire lives, sometimes even they would feel hungry they won't touch even a rotten apple. It will even take them time to get used to a scavenger life, or if they finally do, they would find a hard time looking for food, most of the time there will be competitions for scavengers, like cats. And if they don't find anything to eat, they just sleep without anything on their stomach.

The truth is I seldom held grounded by my parents, especially my Dad—except if he's drunk and his pornography collection is been touched and my heck of a brother will drag me to his folly. Up until now I felt sexually harassed with what I've seen on that stupid video, or even worse, raped. And I don't know if you'll laugh or pity me if I tell you the rest of my mishaps before I was visually raped, ugh...

That morning I almost came late for class because I overslept thinking and reminding Hazue of what he must do that day which technically he didn't do it; then I completely forgot about my homework in Math (my worst subject, I admit) because of that that I got a flat, red zero; then I accidentally spilled my bento during lunchtime; then I came late for practice FOR THE FIRST TIME because my teacher talked to me about our Biology report that Tezuka-buchou made me run 20 laps; then I almost lost my English notebook no thanks to that Momoshiro; then Oishi-sempai caught us arguing again; and adding to my list was when I was dragged by Oyaji and Hazue's perversity so goodbye, dinner!

*schwing!*

_...We'll see each other again... That's a promise!_

Until I suddenly remembered that strange dream...

It has been twelve years from today that I had this necklace. It's, I think, 14-karat gold with a pink diamond in an M-shaped pendant. It never wore out though it has been so long since I had this, an indication that it's genuine, even the pink diamond didn't washed out. It's a good thing no one notices it, I don't have any idea what will happen if someone, especially that peach, will see this, that they might mistook me for a gay!

It's because this is actually a girl's necklace (duh, what do you think of me!?). And everything started from this thing...

When I noticed my necklace as I sulked in bed, I can't help but to remember those days when I was still four years old and still living in Toyama, I think. But since I was so darn young back then, I couldn't barely remember anything of my childhood. But what I know is that someone gave this to me.

That bad thing is I can't recall who she was. Yeah she's a girl, but I can't barely remember her face. And I even didn't get her name. It was a long time ago. But what I remember was that something she said to me...

...that whatever happens, I mustn't take this off.

If it didn't cross my mind about that dream, I might sold this long ago. I will cost me three new sets of rackets or even a new set of weights or the shoes I dreamed of—but I realized then that I'm already sounded like that peach because of my hunger.

When I recalled what she made me promise not to throw away her necklace, a thought also came to me that she might find me for this. And maybe she gave this to me so that she could still recognize me after those years. My heart says time after time...that I should wait, wait a little bit longer...though frankly, I don't remember her.

So I made up my mind not to remove it from my neck. Though it looked kinda weird for a boy to wear those stuff, still looks pretty. At least I have a souvenir of my forgotten childhood to make me remember even a bit. This might help me track the person who gave this to me...and I might remember her somehow when we meet someday...

And she'll recognize me as I recognize her.

That really sucks. No dinner, nothing happened in my report. I guess I have to say sayonara to my cherished scholarship...

-*_*-

That night, though I tried to put in my mantra that I'm not hungry at all, I still feel it and I even felt hungrier. I was so hungry that I wanted to share with Howa-chan's dinner and my suicide is set. Ain't that weird? When it comes to practices and personal trainings, you won't hear me complain—except if that darn Inui Juice is around. I don't even care to complain anymore even even though my own teammates and others will call me 'baka mamushi' a number of times because of my tennis techniques (because they also give names to them!). And it's all fine by me even they stereotype a certain Kaidoh Kaoru as one penitent man whose hobbies include torturing himself with lots and lots of training and not as an ordinary junior high student who doesn't have time for social gatherings and stuff. To hell do they care?

But when it comes to usual things like hunger, homework, and even childhood memories, I still feel free to complain as much as I want. It only proves that I'm also like those kids out there—especially if his brother fails to do a favor to him without thinking about his poor aniki's scholarship that can be in danger because of his perversity.

That's what happened to me during the first of February, that year. Nothing has just changed, my days are just the same, or if not, it only gets worse.

But until I closed my eyes to end that day, I never realized that my life's starting to change—for good.

-*_*-

_BS's POV_

The three Momoshiro children kept on praying to their own patrons with a hope to be picked by their idol—especially those two younger kids who wanted to be in showbiz at a very young age.

"I wish that Kaya-chan will pick me..." Takeshi prayed.

"Kaya-chan will pick me..." Takumi assured.

"Kaya-chan will pick me..." Tsuki assured, too

"No! Me!"

"ME!"

"You can't be picked because you're a girl!"

"You can't be picked too because you have a horrible voice!"

"But won't it be wrong if she'll sing with a girl?"

"It'll be more wrong if someone with a horrible voice will sing with her!"

"NO! Kaya-chan will pick me for sure!"

"Maybe not!"

"But you can't! You're still little!"

"But you can't join, too!"

"Maybe you mean," Takeshi squeezed in, "you just can't join legally because you're still young to be in showbusiness..."

"YOU'RE JUST JEALOUS!"

"Wha--!? HEY! I'm not like who already want to assume showbusiness at such an early age that you don't care for yer future! Look at yer dutiful aniki who makes use of my charm (A/N: Oh yeah...?) into good use by being in the tennis club! And hey, are you _really_ sure one of you'll be picked by Kaya-chan? What if she picked someone else? You're assuming too much, kids!"

"LOOK WHO'S TALKIN'!"

"Whatda---!?"

A few moments later Kaya finally picked one postcard from the pink box. And when their aniki noticed the postcard's look, he froze and panted hard in such happy shock that he's about to give birth.

The two other kids looked at each other when they saw their aniki about to give birth—uh, I mean burst with victory with an unexplained reason, especially when they heard him keep mumbling a certain chant like praying to the god of good luck.

"That's my postcard...that's my postcard...!"

That's where the two finally realized that their aniki's a certified fanboy (he's not my brother, Takumi even mumbled) which made them anxious finding out that he's actually telling the truth. It isn't Takumi's—nor Tsuki's—postcard. And they don't expected—and liked—it.

"He just said that we're too young to join the raffle," Takumi snorted.

"There's a connection to that!" Their aniki explained. "At least I'm already in a legal age to join in that stuff! How 'bout you? Mom might not even let you go to the concert if she finds out..."

"Whatever..."

"Talk to the hand!" Tsuki showed her hand in protest.

And there Kaya announced her Lucky Sender's school. *From Seishun Gakuen Middle School!* Takeshi's heart pound harder and faster because it's certain, it really is, that his postcard was the lucky one in the singer's hand. His heart and soul journeyed into such unseen bliss as his siblings started to plot an assassination attack on him anytime soon.

*Congratulations to...*

Then a firetruck suddenly parked beside the Momoshiros' home.

-*00_00*-

**NOTA BENE:**

Quotes enclosed in * signifying a person talking on TV or phone.

_italicized _quotes indicate a person's flashback.

TODAY'S NEW CHARACTERS:

**Usui-san: **Kaya's manager. Age: 27. Height: 5'6" Hair: Light russet. She is the only person she could trusted and she know her talent's pain and suffering and ever her past. More of her will be revealed as the story goes on.

**Takumi and Tsuki: **Momo-chan's siblings. According to Genius 10.0, he is the eldest of the three chldren. I just forgot if he has a sister or if he heas, I'm not sure if she's the middle or the youngest child. But in this case I turned the girl as the youngest, he-he...

OTHERS:

**[1] **Read the New Prince of Tennis Manga about the Under 17 Camp. I didn't go into details because most of the information can be found there--if you read it.

**[2] **Yes, That semishaved freshen is actually a blonde--as seen in the final episode of the OVA.

**[3] **Their, uh, 'beautiful' friendship started in episode 69 of the anime where Kachiro became angry at Arai and his henchmen for not taking Tezuka's injury issue seriously.

**[4] **Saint Icarus was mentioned in Genius 10.0 as one of the teams beaten by Seigaku. I just made them a team from Nagano since my information on them were that inaccurate...

**[5] **You probably watched ep. 102 of the anime where Momo almost lost his bike key and Kaidoh found it but still ended up in a fight as usual.

**[6] **'sorry' in colloquial Japanese (andI'm not even sure about the spelling. Correct me if I'm wrong)

**[7] **They fought against Shitenhouji in the Semifinal round of the Nationals. Doubles 2 was the worst yet the most entertaining in the history of junior high tennis, where the unlikely pair of Momo and Kaidoh fought against the ambiguously gay Hitouji-Koharu pair.

**[8] **'Therefore' in Japanese...still not sure...ai...

**[9] **a portable data-keeping device with a stylus, it's like a supermini laptop for people on business, also like a electronic organizer.

**[10] **'idiot' in Japanese

**[11] **see New Characters section

**[12] **Derived from "Virgin Love" by FURIL, the first ending theme of Wedding Peach. This song led me to write this story, nyehehe...

**[13] **a sweet pinkish confection available only at Gakuen Alice.

_**NEXT STANZA: **The whole Seigaku knows it already--except him. Momoshiro is angry. The little Siren is determined to regeined her old life for something important to search for, and she's about to reach it with..._

(**BS: **Man, I'm exhausted, I didn't even uploaded the original Tagalog version of this yet! Anyway, please wait for my Stanza Two! Paalam muna!)


	4. Stanza 2

**Princess Idol: THE ENGLISH VERSION**

**by: BEAFSTAKES  
**

**Stanza Two:**

**LUCKY BASTARD**

_Kaidoh's POV_

The next day I just felt as worse as ever, as if the executioner was following me everywhere. I just woke up earlier than usual, then I had my breakfast, did my morning exercises, then I put on my jersey and ran to school which I always do each morning. Aside from those morning rituals, no manhole was waiting for me, no ugly dog to catch me, no bags flying around to throw it on me and frame me up. It was a miracle none of those happened to me that morning, that's why I though there would be a bigtime misfortune waiting for me at school.

But looking at the bright side, I also thought that doing my usual routine earlier than usual would be an indication that nothing bad will happen to me, or so I hoped, so I just unmindfully jog to school that mostly counts 30 minutes or less depending on what time I wake up.

I jogged with the rest of the students going to Seigaku that morning. Most students there only walk their way from their homes. Some go on bicycles (like Momoshiro), some were even taken by cars (the Girls' Team captain is a rich kid **[1]**) and some even come in their rollerblades (like Sohma **[2]**). But of all students coming to school every morning, there's only one person I know who actually comes by motorcycle—Naegino-sempai. **[3] **Probably she's the only person in Seigaku who actually uses a motorbike at that age. Good thing no one caught her, because I know that's illegal especially to a junior high student who doesn't have a decent license. I just wonder why. But there's one thing I'm sure of: that peach can't do that.

I just went in when I heard two boys whispering to each other.

"Hey, is that Kaidoh from Seigaku Tennis Club?"

"Huh? Yeah, he is!"

"Man, can't you believe that guy's a lucky bastard?"

"So you watched Kaya Supershow, too..."

"Of course, I just can't pass that especially if it's Kaya-chan! And, uh...let's keep this secret: I joined in her raffle, you see..."

"Man, we're just the same! We're soulmates!"

"Damn, I can't believe that he's also her avid fan!"

"Yeah, no one ever thought that his name will be picked among millions for Kaya-chan's concert next week!"

"Free VIP Pass..."

"A duet with Kaya-chan, herself..."

"And a date after that..."

"Man, KAIDOH KAORU IS SUCH A LUCKY BASTARD!"

I can't tell if those two were just making fun of me only because I came only to make my day. But the next thing happened was heck surreal when their classmate came in.

"Hey, guys! So you watched it, too?"

"You're too late for the news," one said.

"That Kaidoh from Seigaku Tennis Club," another added, "he also sent a postcard to Kaya-chan's show!"

"And would you believe that HIS name was picked?"

"Hands down to him..."

"So unelievable..."

"I'm darn jealous!"

"Why him of all people...?"

"Ssssh!" they were just scolded by the newcomer. "Lower yer voice! What if he hears you!?"

I just can't get any word they're saying, and I even can't get it more when they looked at me like a wandering ghost. What I only understood was that I'm one lucky bastard and my name was picked by a certain girl named Kaya. She seemed to be popular to guys. But the great mystery there was how in the world my name was included in that 'raffle draw'. I don't recall myself joining in such gimmicks because I'm not like that certain someone who joins such draws to gain attention. Besides...

I don't have any idea who the heck was that Kaya girl nor that 'Kaya Supershow'. I rarely watched television because of my training, even on weekends.

I was sure what they were saying was far too impossible in my kind. So I went ahead clearng my thoughts about those senseless rumors to change into my school uniform when...

"Kaidoh!"

It was Arai, another idiot like Momoshiro, but more of a slacking potato. He was once the leader of the bullying sophomores but later stopped when Echizen beat him in tennis a long time ago.

I intended not to look at him since I know he'll just ruin my day. "H-hey, wait!" he even followed me. "Don't be a snob, man! It's only because Kaya-chan picked you up it doesn't mean you'll act like a high and mighty!"

I knew it.

"Hey...don't tell me you didn't know about it yet! Haven't you watch the show yesterday?"

Since I can't hold my peace anymore, I just answered him. "So what if I didn't know?"

He retreated a bit. "H-hey man, chill out, I'm not edible! I mean, I'm just curious..."

"I don't know what you're talkin' about. In the first place, I never joined in that stupid raffle or whatever..."

"You can't deny it, man! The whole Seigaku knows about it already!"

"W-what!? The whole Seigaku--?"

"Kaidoh, my man, however you would pretend, it's useless by now, because to tell yon, almost all here in Seigaku submitted their postcard entries to Kaya-chan hoping to get a free VIP Pass plus a once-in-a-lifetime chance to perform with her and an after-concert date—all of those will happen in one Valentine night next week! And from almost, let's say, 1, 700 **[4] **students here who joined, your name was luckily picked by Kaya-chan! It was a shock to the whole school to find out that Seigaku Tennis Club's Mamushi will be picked a phenomenal teen idol who has an angelic voice and personality! Yeah, I admit I'm jealous since I joined there, too, but from now on, you can count on our support! Who knows, one day she'll fall for you..."

"HALLELUJAH!" the idiots around me suddenly sang ang shouted like they were on a congregation.

"But it can be possible!" he clinged to me. "As they say, opposites attract..."

But I freed myself from him and went on. He's one irritating charcoal. They're all bugging me. I just can't understand why they insist that I really joined in that draw, and if they can get something from bugging me. I just went straight to the club room to change, thinking that everything was just one plain joke.

"Wait, Kaidoh!" Arai kept on following me. "Why don't you believe me!?"

I had enough. "Why? Do you think I'm THAT desperate to join in such games, HUH!? Sorry, but you're barking at the wrong guy..."

"Relax, man! So what are you saying, someone set you up by including your name on a certain postcard but it happened that yours was picked, is that it?"

I never thought of that, honestly.

Surely there's a possibility that somewhone with a wily brain would drag my good name in that heck of a draw. I don't know what's on that idiot's mind to put my shame and humiliation in National TV. Unless..

HE did that.

I just stared at Arai. Well it was a miracle that he gave me an idea of my primary suspect, he made his brain function after a hundred years. He even thought he's the one I'm suspecting.

"W-wait, man...do you think I was the one who did that!? Yeah, I've committed several mistakes in my life but I'm not that suicidal to drag you into this! Even a guy like me can be an honest man, for Pete's---!"

"KAIDOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Speaking of primary suspect, he finally showed up.

His irritating voice from the depths of hell has just activated my destruction hormone. But I held myself for a moment, I have to wait. I saw him standing at the main building entrance. We stared for minutes that I forgot to count it. But it was strange that he stared at me so sharp that he could charge at me any second and he won't have scond thoughts to kill me in public. It's not what I'm expecting. I don't know why in the world that peach will be angry at me probably because of that raffle draw.

That Momoshiro...

He was shaking with rage. His teeth showing up like a mad dog about to bite anyone in sight—me first. That was another mystery that I have to uncover at that moment...

Unless I was wrong.

He was about to charge at me without thinking at his surroundings, as if he sees no monster but me. So I thought of giving him a consideration as I ran to him, too. He was probably not the person I'm suspecting for, but I just can't get rid of my thought that he set everything. Nor I didn't thought if what he was doing back then was just part of his act or he's just too thickheaded to notice it and think about the aftermath. I thought the same thing as well. If that's what he wanted, there's no reason to withhold his request.

We both didn't think about the tome nor the detention anymore. We just wanted to find out who's who and how in the name of God did my name included there. We're about to exchange punches, when...

"KAIDOH~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Someone pushed Momoshiro away and was thrown back to where he was standing before, and someone suddenly hugged me so tight I can't breathe. I know one person who kills another with his ultimate glomp attack of happiness, ugh...

"You are now the LUCKIEST guy in Japan, you know that!?"

"S-stop it, Sempai," I wailed. "I can't...breathe...!"

"Hail, Kaidoh Kaoru, full of grace, the angel Kaya-chan is with thee! Blessed art thou amongst men---!" **[5]**

Right, he just messed up one sacred prayer.

"Are you trying to kill him, Eiji?"

And then his (ex) doubles partner, Oishi-sempai, came along and saved me.

"And who gave you the freedom to ruin a Christian prayer? Being not a Christian doesn't mean you have to make fun at their prayers! It's offending to their creed, you know that!"

"G-gomen, nya..." it's a good thing he easly admits his mistakes that he finally let me loose.

"Daijoubu ka, Kaidoh?"

I nodded.

"By the way, congratulations!"

"EEEEEEH!???"

"I just heard from Eiji that you won in Kaya-chan's raffle draw. Wow, I just couldn't believe you're also her big fan!"

I'm all screwed up. "D-demo, Sempai..." I was about to tell them the truth when he noticed a corpse on my back. I almost forgot that bakamono peach who was about to kill me seconds ago but suddenly disappeared if not for Kikumaru-sempai's sudden attack at me.

"M-MOMO!?" he immediately rushed to him. His body was beaten as flat as a rotten peach. He deserved it, though honestly I don't remember the next thing happened whan I saw him like a fallen corpse. Oishi-sempai tried to help him.

"Itai...!" he groaned.

"Ano...daijoubu ka?"

"Shimatta," he tried to be at his feet, "someone pushed me for dead..."

Oishi-sempai suddenly darted at Kikumaru-sempai as if he knew that he did it. Kikumaru-sempai, meanwhile, just scratched his head as one innocent runt would do. Meanwhile I can't help but to be amazed at Kikumaru-sempai's sudden yet unusual strength when he pushed his own protege THAT hard, so I almost thought of seeking help from Inui-sempai if he could study Kikumaru-sempai and his hidden strength when he's in his hyper mode for my future reference, especially when he found out about my sudden turn of luck.

"What did I just do!?" he just asked as if he really doesn't have any idea at all. But then he slowly got what they're trying to show to him when he saw Momoshiro who was still trying to get up. Honestly at that moment if I only have enough money I could treat Kikumaru-sempai to his favorite restaurant as my token of gratitude for saving my butt.

"H-hey, Momo...so there you are," he snickered.

"Do I looked like a wall to you!?" the peach grunted.

He probably looked more than a scratchpost...

"By the way...did you watch it, too?"

He suddenly lapsed.

The devil went back to that peach's body as he went worse when he heard Kikumaru-sempai's question. He wanted to continue his assassination plot on me at that instant but it only backfires when our sempai-tachi came. And speaking of sempai-tachi, it seems like they don't know what was happening to Momoshiro at all since I came.

So Kikumaru-sempai felt that he's the one behind that peach's miery for today. "W-wait," he turned to Oishi-sempai, "is there something wrong with my question?"

"You know what?" and it seems that Oishi-sempai's head was about to explode with all that commotion. "It's better if you would just shut up in front of him for your sake." It seemed, too, that he already understood Momoshiro's position.

"...Huh?"

"Uh, anyway," he tried to check him. "M-Momo..."

"HE RUINED MY LIFE!!!" he totally exploded. It's a good thing that Oishi-sempai was good at controlling wild gorillas like him. Meanwhile the people around us were staring at us like they're really watching an untamed monkey in a zoo.

"C-calm down, Momo!" Oishi-sempai tried to stop him but the monkey really was so strong when he's is a bad mood, I doubt.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO MEEEEH!????" he even wailed.

His acting skills were no match to those award-winning actors I knew. They're too unconvincing to me. I know how he thinks, that peach. He'll pretend to be a weakling and a poor-wretched human. If you fall for his pretence, your life will forever be filmed in a practical joke show. You have no choice but to say goodbye to your pride and reputation that you honed for your lifetime.

But...

"I'LL REALLY KILL YOU THIS TIME, STUPID MAMUSHI! YOU REALLY WANNA DESTROY MY LIFE, DONTCHA!? LET'S SETTLE THIS NOW, ASSHOLE! BRING YER RACKET AN' I'LL SEE YOU AT THE COURTS, Y'HEAR ME!???"

"I told you to calm down!" Oishi-sempai weaned him. "Whatever your problem is, we can talk about that nice and calm..."

"There's nothing to talk about, Sempai!" he'll never listen. "Listen, you!" he pointed at me. "Don't try pretending that you don't know! You really want me to vanish in this school!? How could you manage to submit the same postcard as mine!? And of all whom Kaya-chan can be picked, WHY IT HAS TO BE YOU!?"

And he sparked it: he actually gave me a clue.

That clue made my fists shook with such anger that I didn't notice it. My suspitions on who the hell shamed me in public went stronger as the peach umindedly spiiled his reason. I was about to do the same to him but Kikumaru-sempai stopped me by arms.

"Wait, wait, Kaoru-chan! You don't need to get angry at him! At least you won---!"

But hell that's not what I'm worried about.

"Eiji," Oishi-sempai scolded him again, "do you have to tell that to him in his face?"

Then Momoshiro's strength slowly faltered and, "It was supposed to be me...!" he cried like a baby, so gross. He even hugged Oishi-sempai for comfort, ugh. His wails were more suspicious to me...

"It's okay, Momo, just let it out..."

"No Sempai, it's not okay...! It's not...!" to hell with his acting skills. "How could he stabbed me in my back like that...? How the hell did we have the same postcards!? The picture...the decorations...even the dedication part were so identical to mine! I thought it's against the rules...?"

It really convinced me this time. "That's it," I reasoned out. "How the heck could you tell me that I really joined and won in that raffle if I'm really telling the truth that I didn't do it in the first place!? Nor I don't know that teen idol, let alone the raffle draw!"

"Don't try to deny it, snake!" the monkey's really anooying. "Why can't you admit that you did it to tell me you're greater that I!?"

He's not just annoying. He's also hell pathetic.

"Wait," Oishi-sempai interrupted, "Kaidoh is probably telling the truth--!"

Finally someone with a more functional brain believed in me.

"Demo, Sempai!" the peach almost wailed at his face. "Don't tell me you believe in that snake!"

"Seems like Oishi has some point there," and Kikumaru-sempai signed in my truth advocacy.

"You too, Sempai!?"

"The mechanics stated that one must submit a handmade, unique postcard about Kaya-chan. If that's the case, wouldn't be possible that there are some identical postcards delivered in her show? Not unless you and Kaidoh made postcards together that you got the same look as his..."

"Ne, Eiji," Oishi-sempai interrupted him, "how did you know that,"

"Well," he blushed, "I joined there, too...!"

But I though he's an avid The Chocolates fan **[6]**?

"Demo Sempai," the peach tried to reason out, too, "We're talking about Kaidoh here! KAIDOH! Remember?"

"And what has it done to me, moron!?" I yelled.

I really want to get out of those people. Go straight to the clubroom to change, then go straight to my classroom to have the rest of my day as quiet as possible. They've wasted my prescious time, and Oishi-sempai knows that, seeing him kneading his head which was about to explode in seconds due to the senseless commotion.

"So far," he halted as he still trying to ease tension in his poor head, "what we know is that Kaidoh won in Kaya-chan's raffle. If he really joined or not, of if someone set him up, or if Momo is behind this, is not on our concern anymore. It's their final decision and there's nothing we can do about it—even you, Kaidoh..."

And that's one painful truth. Fssssssh....!

"He's right," Kikumaru-sempai added.

"But if that's the case, how about next week's practice games? As far as I know, Kaya-chan's concert will be on Valentine's Day, and the Goodwill Games committee haven't ratify our schedule for the tournament but one thing for sure is that it will also happen the same week as the concert. What will you do if those two events will fall on the same day?"

"Oh, nya," I noticed Kikumaru-sempai biting his lip, "Oishi's right! How would you deal about that? If that would happen, we can't watch the concert—NO! Kaoru-chan can't decide which of those two will be given priority! You have to decide now, my friend! Or Touchan's tickets will only come to waste---!"

"EIJI!?"

"Nyah! I'll just shut up, sorry...!"

So that's it. The concert will be on February 14, and our game schedule is still tentative. And if happened that those two will fall on the same day, I really have to decide quickly...but it would be easy on my part. After all, it has nothing to do with me since I firmly insisted that I didn't do anything about that contest, nor I have any idea about that Kaya Supershow the whole Seigaku was talking about. I don't have time for television due to my studies and training, for crying out loud!

So I decided, "Of course...the Goodwill Games will remain my top priority."

"NANI!???"

"Oh, that would be a waste, Kaidoh-sempai. I just can't wait for you to show up onstage..."

Shimatta.

Mass media is sure powerful, because even the most dense and numb chibi baka I knew even heard about the news.

"Ohayo, Echizen!" Oishi-sempai greeted.

"Chuz..."

"Ne, ne, Ochibi!" Kikumaru-sempai glomped him. "So you heard it, too? Even a trying-to-be-cool kid like you can't get enough of the freshest news!"

"It just happened that I know since I saw my old man watching a certain show when I heard Kaidoh-sempai's name on TV..."

I thought so.

"By the way, congratulations, Sempai..."

"And what'ya tryin' to say?" I glared at him being so obvious...

"Cill out, Sempai. I don't have any misintentions about that, there's nothing wrong if I wanted to watch you onstage..."

He's a liar. "And then what? Make profit out of me? Jeer at me? Hah, sorry to disappoint you, brat, but I just decided..."

"It would be such a waste, then. And however you deny it, the whole Japan already knows that you'll be with that idol in her concert? Luck is just on your reach yet you'll throw it away?"

"You're not controlling my life, you know..." I faced him. Honestly, I really want to smack him good in front of my teammates, I don't care, but it would be more diplomatic if I'll challenge him to a tennis match where I can get even at him at last, but...

"Cut it out, mamushi," Momoshiro tried to stopped me by grabbing my shoulder. "you're only messing with a kid..."

His grasp was so tight and shaking that he almost crushed my shoulder bone. Obviously he was still furious with what I 'did' to him. He really took his loss seriously, pathetic as always.

"Don't worry, man," I just said, "you're next here..."

"Calm down, you guys!" Oishi-sempai separated us. "You see, Momo, he just made up his mind. We have to respect it, okay?"

But I really had enough. Just for the chaos not to happen, I just left them and not minding about the rumors they're spreading. They thought I'm happy at that, they're wrong. They don't know anything. That time I didn't have the care not to find out on who really was behind all that, all I know is that they just wasted my time. I just thought that everything was just a dream—no, a nightmare, that was only playing at me.

And it really made my day. Again.

-*_*-

_BC's POV_

A stylish white car ran through the busy highway as it goes on its wat to Seigaku. Usui drives the car, while a young student in her official Seigaku uniform underneath her white winter coat and glasses is on the back seat, gazing at the round, gold carillion playing a sweet melody while passing time.

The female driver noticed her passenger listening to the music of the said object, while reminiscing old yet happy memories. She can't help her curiosity but to talk to her.

"You really are looking for him for a long time, aren't you?"

The girl closed the carillion as it stopped playing music to answer her driver. "Since I entered showbusiness, there's no time or day that I don't search for him."

"You even tried to go back to your old neighborhood while we're on Toyama Tour, didn't you?"

"I tried, but... I didn't have the courage to ask the people living there. Though the place has changed a lot..."

The driver just sighed. "You also said that you even failed to ask that guy's name."

The girl's voice traced sadness. "Hai..."

There was a short silence inside the car. But with that kind of silence Usui became a bit restless, thus she thought of a new topic to discuss.

"Dear," she called her, "Are you sure about this?"

"Huh?"

"What we're doing... I mean, setting aside your quest to find 'him', that childhood friend of yours... Does your father..."

"No," her snap reply.

Another silence followed though it only lasted for seconds.

"He didn't...know about this yet," she said feebly, wringing her fingers. "Though I'm planning to tell him soon... It's been two years since I last saw him. I rarely see him in the morning or worse...he rarely goes home."

"I know that, but that doesn't answer the main issue. About your...carrer...and about you staying in a condominium unit..."

"He doesn't know about it, either. And that's one thing that's hard for me to tell him."

"My dear...I know you're still upset with your dad, but you just can't make him suffer like this. If you only know what he feels at this moment... I know those things as his secretary, but I'm not saying this because I want to get involved in such family matters. My only job, after all, is to give sound advices."

"Honestly," as the girl played with the chains of the carillion, "my disappointment to him's already gone, probably it just faded away as time passed. I really want to tell him everything...only if I have the courage to do so. You know what will be his reaction if he finds out that his own daughter's a talent in his company. I don't wnat my career to end like that..."

"You really want to be an idol, don't you? But it seems that you are trying to run away from..."

"I'm not running away!"

"Calm down, dear, I know that, too, all right. You only want to go back to school like before. But what will the people say if..."

"I've already cut my hair and wore glasses, isn't that enough?"

Poor Usui sighed again at her talent's minimized look. "No need to fret... See, I almost didn't recognized you now. But in fairness," she grinned, "the Seigaku uniform's seem so cute..."

The girl smiled back. "How do I look?"

"Well, if the uniform's cute, so is the wearer. You know that you're good in everything you wear..."

A tint of pink kissed her cheeks. "Arigato..."

Their usual ardor came back as Usui picked another topic to go with it. "Seigaku...isn't that your mother's old school?"

"It is."

"But why not Hyotei? Your father's an alumnus there."

"Well," she blinked sheepishly, "it's just near the condominium I'm staying, that's why..."

The manager just sweatdropped.

"Also," her reminiscing look in her face came back, "since my mother's once an alumna of Seigaku, I want to know more about her by going to that school. You know that she died while giving birth to me. Otousama **[7] **told me that she's so beautiful and surprisingly a tennis genius."

"I can see that. I also read something about Seigaku months ago. They're this year's National Tennis Champion in the Juniors Division. That school's known for their tennis club, since your idol Echizen Nanjiroh (A/N: NO WAY!) also graduated there. He and your mom were both tennis legends produced by that school."

"It makes me more excited!" her smile widened as ahe imagined her new school.

"And also...your Lucky Fan...also studied there, isn't he?"

Her smile didn't fade.

The girl took out a postcard from her pocket, the postcard which he drew yesterday. Her autographed picture was used there, adorned with little pink paper hears around her picture that almost covered her face. And a dedication at the back of the card made her smile more to almost a snicker:

Dear Kaya-chan,

I'm yer no. 1 fan! I am! I want date to date! I can wait to duet you for yer cons concert. I really really crush you! I can wait see you. D Pick me or not pick me, I'm still no.1! I love you!

Gr Lovingly Yours,

Tak Kaoru Kaidoh

Usui just heard her talent laughing by herself as she reads the dedication. "What's happening to you?" her eyebrow arched.

The idol calmed herself. "Gomen," she said, "I just ca't help laughing at his letter...or her letter... But seeing the letter, I'd say it's a guy..."

"What's funny with..._his_ letter?"

"His English was so wrong. There are too many lapses, and there are some unnecessary grammar usage...misuse of words..."

"What do you expect? Most fanmails I've read are like that, mostly are wrong grammar, either they use Japanese or English just to please you, or worse some would have double meaning that can be turned into indecent proposals! Do you get what I mean?"

The idol gave a heavy sigh. "But probably...of all mails I've received, this is probably the most special..."

And the manager knows that, too, and smiled.

Later Usui caught sight of a familiar clock tower half a kilometer away from them. He signalled her passenger.

"We're almost there," she said. The girl immediately fixed herself, the postcard and her carillion were put inside her bag. "This is it. Be ready for your first day...

Kaoru-jousama... **[8]**"

-*_*-

Kaidoh's sudden leave made Eiji swallowed hard with such guilt. "He's angry..."

"He's in a bad mood," Ryoma yawned.

"It's Oishi's fault," he glared at his former doubles partner. "You made him decide so hard!"

"What did I do just now?" the Vice-captain's brows arched.

"You forced him to throw a big opportunity of his life for the next week's game!"

"Tell me, Eiji," Oishi faced him. "if you're in Kaidoh's shoes, what will you choose: the corcert or the game?"

"The concert, of course, especially if The Chocolates will perform!"

"Oh, so that means the game is nothing to you? Is it ok for you to forfeit just for the concert?"

"Huh!? Of course not! But hey, we're seniors, we're preparing for the exams and so we seldom go to practice with the others--!"

"So are you still choosing the concert over the exams, is that it?"

"Man, that's not fair! Seniors aren't suppose to join in games, and..."

"That's what I'm telling you, Eiji. What if the concert and the game will fall on the same date and time next week? I'm not even forcing Kaidoh to choose the game since as an incoming third year, it's an important game. But still, it's his decision."

"But that's actually not the reason," Ryoma countered his sempai's opinion.

"What is it?"

"...His ego."

"Ochibi's right," the catlike senior snapped. "He's not the type of guy who would join in such contests, and the whole Seigaku knows that. So it has become a shocking revelation that he's also an avid Kaya-chan fan! And for our beloved little mamushi, as a man and as a respected Regular, his pride has been stained because of that. He should have been happy if it isn't for his reputation at stake... Ne, Momo?"

Well, speaking of Momo, his dismay and rage doesn't cease yet as he kept on stabbing a poor innocent cherry blossom tree which they were sheltering, uttering curses as if he was performing an odd ritual. The three other members can't stand his mumbling as they moved away from him, especially poor Ryoma who clinged to his Kikumaru-sempai's uniform for protection, perhaps.

"What the heck are you doing Momo!?" Eiji scolded the warlock. "You're scaring poor Ochibi away!"

"Hey, Momo!" Oishi scolded him, too. "Do you want to get fined by the school!?"

But "It was suppose to be me..." he cursed as he kept on stabbing the tree with his stained pen. "It was my postcard... Why didn't they say just my name...?"

"Get a hold of yourself!"

"He's pathetic," Ryoma sighed.

"Do you thing that will help? Even if you stab all the rees here, you can't take back that Kaidoh won, either he joined or not."

"Besides, if Kaidoh-sempai really said that he didn't join there, why are you acting like a pathetic monkey?"

Suddenly Momo glared at his cocky kouhai.

Ryoma suddenly shifted backwards, fearing that he will be next to be stabbed and be offered to the God of Bad Luck. He hid his face at his Kikumaru-sempai's back. But gradually Momo dropped his sacrificial pen and sat on the ground like a raped teenager. He sighed at gazed at the branches of the sakura tree about to bloom a month from now. Meanwhile others just glanced at each other with enigmatic looks.

"To tell you honestly," his senses gradually came back as well, "I also wonder how that happened..."

(Hell, he suddenly changed over! Ryoma's brows were surprised.)

"I know Kaidoh. He doesn't sell himself in those kind of promos and such, though he wanted to, that's why it was so weird and his name was among those on that draw box and was even picked..."

"Are you sure you're not into this?" Ryoma asked him casually.

"And just what do you think of me, some kind of a leprecaun **[9] **who gives anyone some luck? I'm not that stupid to share away what I'm planning and I'm not generous enough to give my luck especially to that mamushi!"

But instead of being convinced, none of his own teammates bothered to look at him in sympathy and instead looking at each other with agreed minds that made Momo's brows rise.

"Why the hell are you looking at me like I'm some kind of a bad guy here!?"

But they didn't bother answering him. "He's really upset," Ryoma said and his sempais all agreed.

"Ain't that obvious!?"

"Demo," Oishi halted, whether he joined or not, or whether someone set him up, one thing is for sure: Kaidoh was picked and everyone knows it. He can't take it back however he denies it. It's better if we just support him until Kaya-chan's concert begins."

"He's right!" Eiji agreed. "It's also a good start for him to change his social life rather than wasting himself on training alone! He might even thank that guy who set him up for that! Let's make an oath that we, the Seigaku Tennis Club, will help Kaoru-chan to reach for his dream to be Kaya-chan's date and to make him an ULTIMATE POPSTAR!"

"But Eiji, Kaidoh's just a Lucky Fan, not a leading man!"

"We just hope that he won't scare Kaya-chan with his face," Momo mumbled.

"You're just one bitter guy," the cat teen hooted.

It seems that the Nelly-wannabe ex-Regular is determined to get their antisocial kouhai an extreme makeover, while the poor spiky-headed teen was still protesting to his own misfortune, although he slowly conceded and also became astonished as to how his eternal rival doesn't have any idea about Kaya-chan, the concert, and the raffle draw. It only made the two remaining normal-brained members sighed for their shocked friends. However...

"Ano...Sempai," Ryoma poked at his Oishi-sempai, "who's Kaya, by the way?"

There was a sudden pause.

Eiji and his protege were stunned with their youngest crewmwmber's question to their motherly Vice-captain, Well, that's just normal for a certain Echizen Ryoma who doesn't have any nip of idea about showbiz or anything related if they have nothing to do with tennis, of course. Aside from that, they are also aware, especially his Momo-sempai, that he has a memory span of a goldfish **[10]**.

The peach just sighed at his kouhai's social sickness. "You were really born with a brain tumor, weren't you?" he said. "You don't even have the slightest idea about Japan's Siren of the 21st Century **[11] **who is none other than Kaya-chan! Her current TV Program has only ranked the highest among all the late afternoon TV shows in different TV stations across the country..."

The little genius whistled at the teen idol's achievement...

"---She only started last year. She was only twelve when she was discovered in a karaoke bar..."

Everyone's heart jumped with surprised at the sudden appearence of...

"INUI!?" Eiji almost scolded him in his face. "You really wanted to kill me!?"

"Hi..." the Dataman greeted.

"Is that all you can say!?"

"Anyway," and he flipped the pages of his cherished green notebook, "though Kaya's already that popular in only a short time, the data I've gathered about her's still incomplete."

Everyone sweatdropped. "You even researched on that," Eiji scratched his head.

Inui continued. "Her birthday's on June 30. Her height is 162 centimeters, she weights 46 kilos. Vital statistics are 32-24-34. Voice range is from mezzo soprano to soprano. She likes strawberries ans strawberry-based desserts, salmon roe sushi, pasta, and likes dogs, too. She is after a guy who is true to himself, with great sense of responsibility, and determination to face everything. She hates pretences. Ever since she started, 1.5 million copies of her first single, 'Angel Paint' **[12] **were instantly sold in just a week. After that several product endoresements, movie projects, and TV and event guestings were offered to her. Her own TV show has been aired for almost a year now and it garners an average of 50% of its audience share every month. Her first major concert happened on her birthday with over 50, 000 fans came to see her. And as her Valentine Concert's fast approaching, 20, 000 tickets were sold in just a day since its first release, and it has been already sold out to almost 200, 000; it was more than they've expected. Good thing I've bought some tickets for all of us," and he even swivered two fans of Virgin Love Tickets (don't bother count them all) to his teammates, that made their eyebrows twitched.

"Uh...Inui..." Oishi tried to ask, "just how many notebooks did you sell for that?"

"None," he replied simply with a glint on his glasses. "They're from my own account."

"Thanks a lot, Sempai," the two kouhais sarcastically thank him.

"However," as Inui turned another page of his notebook, "just as I said earlier, my data's still not that sufficient about her being new in the industry. When it comes to her personal information such as her birthplace, address, school she's in, and especially her real name and family background, all of them are higly confidential. For members of the entertainment press, it would be a great scoop if they could get at least one of any information about her that I mentioned earlier. There's one incident that a paparazzo was caught and been jailed by Kaya-san's manager for followeing them from a birthday party they've gone to."

"Wow," Eiji became more fascinated after hearing his batchmate's data, "she's not just popular, she's also as mysterious as Kaoru-chan!"

"So that's it..." Ryoma scratched his chin after getting some information though it doesn't concern about tennis at all.

Until DING-DONG-DING-DONG...

"Shimatta!" the former Golden Pair was startled at the sound of the bell.

"WE'RE LATE!" the Ah-Un Pain cried.

"Not yet," and Inui looked at his wristwatch, "we still have three minutes..."

"But three minutes is so darn short for us!" Oishi scolded. "Let's go!"

"HAI!" and they rushed to the main building, changed into indoor shoes, and headed to their respective classroom before their teachers could catch them.

-*_*-

"We're here," as Usui opened the door to the passenger seat for her talent. The young mistress got off, raising her glasses, pat her coat and checked her bag if everything is there. She also held her entrance papers on her hand to be submitted to the Principal's Office. As they stepped on the school entrance, she couldn't contain her amazement.

"So this is Okaasama's **[13] **former school," she gasped. "It's so huge...!"

"Seishun Gakuen's a private institution," her manager explained. "This is just their Middle School Division. The other divisions can be found in other parts of Tokyo. Almost whatever you need can be found here."

"I just can't wait to see their tennis courts!" her excitement aroused.

"You really want to try their courts though you know there's no time?"

Hearing that fact made the girl just sank in disappointment. "Yeah...if only there's more time... That's why I didn't bother bringing my gear with me..."

The manager pat her shoulder. "That's ok, you still have the chances, but maybe this is not yet the right time for you... Anyway, are they all there?"

"Hai, they're all ready."

"God. Let's go..."

But Usui was surprised when she noticed her talent not moving at all, that she even thought that she's starting to feel not so well.

"Something the matter, Ojousama?" she went to her.

"Gomen nasai, Usui-san," the girl apologized, "but from here I have to work alone."

"D-demo, Ojousama..."

"Starting today I'm now an official student of Seigaku. I have to do things by myself. Besides, if they see you here, they might found out who I am and they might also suspect me of something..."

"It can't be helped to be worried about you. The school's so big that you might get lost..."

"Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do, but I just want to make sure. I just can't believe that you have to cancel all your morning appointments just to go to school of your first day. I know education is important to you, but..."

"Are you worried that someone will recognize me? Usui-san, do I still look like a pop star in this?" and she twirled herself to make her manager realize how she looks now. "Look at me...do you know any pop star who wears glasses and uniform like this?"

Usui can't help herself but to give a heavy sigh for her comment. "Yes, yes, I can see it, I get your point. As a matter of fact, I almost didn't recognize you because of your new hair..."

Kaya suddenly paused and stepped back seeing her manager so upset with what she did to herself. "Are you angry...because I cut my hair...?"

Usui was trapped by her talent's innocent eyes, that she sighed, Well she can't resist her cuteness especially if she's guilty of something. "N-no, I'm not angry. It's just... your beautiful hair's such a waste that you have to cut it to hide your identity. Even though you still wnat to make use of your remaining hair for your wig when you go back to the limelight, having a natural hair is still different... But still I don't have the right to complain about it because it's your hair..."

Later the school bell rang as the first period is about to start.

They have no more time to talk more about her decision, so Kaya just held her manager's hand for support. "You have to promise," she said.

"What is it?"

"This is only between the two of us. No one must get involve with my quest. Is that okay?"

She sighed. "There's no need to worry, Ojousama. My lips are sealed... But you have to promise to me something in exchange."

"What is it?"

"...Please take care of yourself. I'll not be at your side to attend to your needs since this is what you wished for. But for now, I just wnat you to enjoy your stay at Seigaku. I strongly believe...in your case, you could easily gain friends."

The young idol nodded. They kissed each other's cheeks before Usui finally left her in the campus entrance. Kaya then immediately set foot to Seigaku's territory for the first time before the teacher-in-charge finally closed the gate so that latecomers couldn't easily be tolerated. As the gate's lock has been set, her adventure as a disguising teen idol in an unfamiliar environment begins as well.

Kaya began to walk her way to the Principal's Office.

It has been a minute past eight, but she didin't notice it a first. She haven't started to stroll around the campus but she paused and looked around. Her excitement and awe prevailed as she can't still believe that she's already in her deceased mother's old school. Being in her school was like she was also embracing and kissing her mother whom she never met since her death while giving birth to her.

She went on strolling around, her steps began to go slow as she kept on looking around and being amazed at Seigaku's glory. "It's so wide," she said while walking. "If you could see it in the distance, you will think it's just a small school, but looks can be deceiving. It's really huge inside! Where are their tennis courts, by the way...?"

Her thoughts about being in a hurry drifted away as she went on strolling and be fascinated by the school as if she thought of finding the tennis courts by herself at that time. With such enthusiasm in her heart, she didn't notice where she was going...

"Ah!"

"Ow!"

Due to impact her entrance papers she was holding fell off her hands and were scattered, as she, too, almost fell on her knees.

"Ouch..." she pressed the lump on her forehead due to the collision, but she eventually stood erect, fixed her glasses that almost fell off, and patted her crumpled coat. There she noticed who she has been bumped into: a certain tall and fat man who doesn't look like a junoir high student yet a student of Seigaku as his uniform could tell, buttons popped out and wears a black shirt with a skull design, and wears an old-school mohawk hair. At his back was his companion who was so thin and looked like a zombie that Kaya thought he was only disguising as a student to scare the kids in the campus. The thin guy's uniform was stained with octopus balls he was eating at that time since he was knocked off by his friend's elbow causing the fat guy's elbow be stained, too, because of her.

Kaya then realized that she just made her very first mistake—and there's a hight possibility it could be fatal to her—in her new school. She was about to apologize to the two boys when she noticed her wristwatch that it has been three minutes past eight.

"Son na! **[14] **I'm late!" she gasped. "G-gomen nasai!" she bowed to the boys as she squatted to pick up the scattered documents, but one of them intentedly stepped onto one of the papers she was about to pick up.

The poor idol even thought that the drug-faced boy did it on accident. "Uh...ano...s-sumimasen..."

"Just a sec, missy," the thin guy called her, "you just can't get away after what y'did to my uniform and to my boss..."

"B-but I apologized already," Kaya began to feel nervous. "I..I'll be late for my first day..."

"Yer first day?" the snickered, and the fat guy suddenly grabbed her wrist. "Well you heard my compadre here," he snickered. "You won't get away unless you apologize properly...especially that you're only new here, as you just said..."

"Itai...!" the girl squirmed. "I told you I said sorry...!"

"Ain't enough, babe," his grip tightened. "Don't tell me you only want to escape yer responsibility. Too bad it won't work for me especially if I rule here..."

"Boss is right," the corpse guy interrupted. "You just bumped to no one but Seigaku's King. You've just made yourself an enemy, cheekypie!"

But Kaya remained as calm as she could. "If that's the problem, then I can pay you right away! Name your price, just let me go!"

They only laughed at her like they have just heard the funnies joke they have ever heard. "You should have told that earlier," as the big jerk lifted Kaya by her wrist. "But sorry, my pride can't be paid for money or even by cheque, especially if a pretty girl like you will offer that," and smirked.

Their rough actions finally made Kaya irritated and glared at the big jerk eye to eye. "Wait a minute, do you guys always do this those who have debt on you? Do you not even know the meaning of the word 'sorry' or are you probably asleep when your teacher taught you that? It's probably a miracle that you were able to reach junior high without knowing what that word means, I feel sorry for you guys..."

"So what if we are?" the guy's grip on Kaya's delicate wrist might break her. "In the first place, it's not your business to butt on others, y'know. To tel you now I hate people who tells me what I shall do. This is to remind you that you're making an enemy to the Student Council President who's handling you right now, so better be careful wit your words, missy," and make a bickering laugh.

But it only made Kaya feel more irritated. "If you're really the President, why are you acting like that to your fellow students?"

"It's just simple," and whispered to her, "to show these idiotic students who is their boss."

"You're not!" she finally lost her temper and shouted at her opressor in his face. "You're nothing but a sore loser who only wants to gain attention! Just to remind you, Mr. President, that a school is supposed to be a place for learning and for freedom, and it's definitely not the place for a jerk like you!"

But instead of listening to her, the fat guy grabbed her other wrist that made her drop her bag. "You really are something," the zombie guy took his turn to speak. "You sound like an old politician. You need a placard or a streamer to shout yer thoughts to the whole school!" and made a crazy laugh.

"And that," the big bully's greasy face almost touched Kaya's cute nose, "is the act one student must NEVER do as long as my dad rules here: One slight complaint will lead one to total expulsion."

"You're terrorizing the whole school!" Kaya was almost in verge of pain.

"No, we're not. We're just _straightening_ things up," and lifter her more. "You have some nerve to talk like that being a neophyte in this school. I guess you need some more educating...from me, of course."

For Kaya, those jerks' snickers are bad signs. She never thought that her first day in Seigaku would end up in the hands of two lowlives trying to be school leaders. She was on the verge of tears, trying to struggle but ended up defenseless in the big President's tight grasp. How she only wished that she let her manager come with her to the Principal's Office...

-*_*-

_Kaidoh's POV_

Because of that stupid peach and his henchmen, I already forgot the time. I was about to go to the clubroom when I heard a girl sreaming.

I instantly spied her near the gate entrance, with her two lowlives picking her. I know those two. The big-assed, fat jerk who was holding the girl was Nishidata, **[15]** son of another lowlife of a board member, and believe it or not he's the Council President back then. The oher one's just one of his men, but I recocnized him being the one who always follows him in his 'patrolling' missions. As usual, they pick up any latecomer they could spy on, or someone who will bump them either intentionally or not, or they would just randomly play on somebody. That fat jerk just want to show to the whole Seigaku who's the boss around.

But it was the first time that I saw them picking on an innocent girl.

I noticed scattered papers around, and I'm sure it's from the girl. They didn't even care to pick it up, they even dared to step on them like dirt. I don't have any idea what came into their puny brains to harass such an innocent girl, probably a latecomer or she bumped into them, or she's just unlucky that they randomly picked her. But to be honest, I never saw her around for once. But either way, I don't care if he's a year my senior but that's no way to treat a girl. Even Momoshiro knows that!

"You really are a bunch of idiots," I told them when I approached them. "You even dared to scare a girl."

Both looked at me like nothing, but Nishidata's right hand suddenly moved back and whispered something to him, sure thing about me.

"He's from the tennis club," I heard the fatass said it.

"We should scram, Boss, that's Kaidoh Kaoru, the most feard in the Juniors Assembly!"

"Don't mind him. So what if he's the scariest man in their department? He'll lay a finger on me or he'll have to say goodbye to the tennis club of his..."

But when he met me in my eyes he suddenly petrified like I put a spell on him or something. I know it's weird, but sometimes I thank my parents for bringing me up with this face since it can be put to good use especially for smartass jerks like Nishidata. Though almost everyone gets scared with my looks, most of the time they mistook me as a bully or even worse, a thief or a lowlife outlaw.

He didn't move an inch for seconds when he stared at me and looked so wet—when someone seemed to whistle at us. We thought a teacher saw us, that made Nishidata throw the girl at me like a ragged doll and we both fell so that no rounding teacher will catch them.

"Run!" he warned his fellow jerk and they left us like nothing. It only pissed me off that they left us without any usual warnings and all, probably because they're scared of my looks, seriously. But what pissed me the most was how they treated the poor girl. We both fell, thanks to him, and then...

For the first time, our eyes met each other.

Her eyes, their big, blue, and beautiful. Like those of a doe. Or rather, like a doll. Her face was pinkish white, smooth like porcelain. Her lips were small and cute that suited her face perfectly. Her hair, black and fragrant as ebony. I felt that Snow White's in front of me, she fell to me from her world, or suitable enough, an angel fell to me from the sky. My thoughts began to flash things up and everything smashed in my head when I felt warmth in my lips, until I realized...

Our lips touched each other.

I felt eletricuted after that. I want to my body away but it won't move at my will. My being suddenly ceased to flow because of that, that's what I felt at that moment—I don't know about the girl I just saved. Nor I didn't realize my face flushing, and hers, too. I felt my brain being mashed up into pulp. At that moment, I can't think of any curse to utter to myself but...

_...Kawaii da... _**[16]**

-*00_00*-

**NOTA BENE:**

Meet the new characters:

**[1]** You'll find out more of her in the next chapters, but to give you a hint: She's known as Seigaku's Angel

**[2]** Hatoko Sohma, classmate/childhood friend/neighbor of Takeshi Momoshiro. Known as Speed Fairy in their team. You'll also know about her soon.

**[3]** Maki Naegino, Inui's only classmate and the only Seigaku student who can dare to ride a motorbike back and fourth. You'll find out why and how.

**[15]** Hongo Nishidata, son of Seigaku's Vice-Chairman, a typical bully who became the school's Student Council President which was supposed to be Tezuka's position (according to Genius 10.5). he might be a lowlife, but he's actually scared of mice and takes orders from his father. In the next chapter you'll find out how that happened.

FOOTNOTES:

**[4]** The entire population of Seishun Gakuen Middle School is 1, 750 to be exact (from genius 10.5)

**[5]** A messed-up prayer based on the original Hail Mary. And please, don't take this seriously.

**[6]** The Chocolates, popular female teen idol group whom Eiji adores.

**[7] **A more honorific Japanese term for 'father'.

**[8] **Literally meaning 'princess' or 'young mistress'.

**[9]** Leprechaun, a popular Irish creature, an elf-like being clad in green who guards the pot of gold that can be found at the end of the rainbow. They are also hard to find since they easily disappears the moment you blink even once. They are also known as gods of fortune, or good luck. Some say they can appear to anyone, whether you have a pure heart or not, since the fortune they bring can also act as their judgement to those who managed to see them without disappearing in their eyes. They are also associated with four-leaf clovers which also symbolyzes luck in Irish folklore

**[10]** According to scientific study, a goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

**[11]** Derived from 'Juliet of the 21st Century', second ending theme of Wedding Peach.

**[12]** 'Tenshi no Enogu', Lynn Minmay's immortal song in Macross Flashback 2012. If you know about Macross or If you're a Macross fan, you probably heard this song. Mika Nakashima also has a version of this hit.

**[13] **A more honorific term for 'mother'

**[14] '**Oh no!' Or 'no way!'

**[16] **So cute

_**NEXT STANZA:** And so our poor little neophye still ended up standing outside—with her savior, and a new acquaintance. And there would be more than just standing outside. Meanwhile it seems that Sumire will suffer another heart attack because of a certain teacher that will lead her to reveal something..._

(**BS:** Sorry for the LOOOOOOOOOOOng delay... I'm having a hard time translating my work, I already have my dictionary at my side and still doesn't help, waah...! Anyway, thanks for bearing with me! Enjoy reading! And just wait for the new chappie that will, again, be taken time to finish it... :D)


	5. Stanza 3

_**PRINCESS IDOL: THE ENGLISH VERSION**_

**By: BEAFSTAKES**

(**OOOPS: **I don't own POT. Be careful of ONE swear you'll be reading here. And oh—OOC ALERT! BTW, It's not Mika Nakashima who sang the new version of Tenshi no Enogu, but Miyuki Nakajima who was Ranka Lee in Macross frontier. Gomen.)

**Stanza Three:**

**KAORU AND KAORU**

_BS's POV_

**A**s their lips collide each other for the first time, their world suddenly ceased to move. Their sense of time simultaneously dropped below. They felt nothing but the heat enveloping them from the time their lips touched each other until that heat reached their very core.

Both wanted to get away right now, they want to, but an unknown strong force was keeping their lips stucked at each other. They can't move their bodies at their will due to that invisible magnet keeping them so close.

When their eyes met for the first time of their lives, as if they began to recognize each other like they have known each other, but whenever that happened, or wherever, or however, they don't have any idea at all.

The poor boy's brain cursed over and over. _Breathe, baka! BREATHE! Darn it!_

The poor girl's heart was crying with shame. _Oh no, I can't move! Sou na...!_

But lucky for them they easily fought the curse of time by themselves, as they quickly pushed away themselves from one another. Both were dumbstricken, they stepped away. Both covered their mouths, still couldn't believe what has just happened between them. Both were obviously innocent, cheeks burning red, and their brains were been jumbled up with just one swift, sweet, and incomparable...

"Shimatta!"

Kaya glanced at the school's clock tower and was surprised by the time. It has been fifteen minutes past eight, and both of them are goddamn late from their respective classes. She was about to get up, but the scattered papers and other important school documents pulled her feet to the ground. They are sure soiled and crumples, especially the one which the President's bodyguard smothered his shoe on. She was on the verge of escaping but she can't ignore those papers.

Still shaking, the poor little idol picked up the papers that she cannot almost pick them properly because of panic. And the baka mamushi, instead of just watching her panic, decided to help her out. But as he stood up to help, he accidentally stepped on something so fragile—he accidentally stepped on the girl's glasses. To his surprise that he almost jumped, he immediately lifted his careless foot. But it was too late...

It's all shattered.

And the little mamushi began to panic as well for what he just did. "Shimat—s-suman! Sumimasen deshita!" he went on bowing his head.

The idol calmed him. "I-iya, shimpai su yo! It's also my fault, too..."

Well at least Kaidoh was able to save all of Kaya's papers—except for her poor glasses. He just hissed, as she also picked the shattered specs while giving the papers to her and after that, he didn't say anything.

Kaya, meanwhile, accepted the papers. "A-arigato," she smiled a bit. "Uh...ano..."

But she wasn't able to finish the sentence, whatever that is, when her savior suddenly screamed noticing the wristwatch she was wearing. Especially when he noticed what time it is...

"SHIMATTA!" he quickly grabbed his bag. "I'm darn late! Man, I'm still in my jersey--!" and he went off to his class without thinking of changing into his school uniform anymore.

Kaya just blinked with wonder about her savior's actions—until she, too, finally realized that she also has to hurry since two minutes more has passed. She quickly stood up, pat herself, put the papers inside her bag so that they won't fly away like a while ago, and went off to her destination. But she also realized how foolish she was thinking that she has to pass through the Principal's Office first so that she would be informed of the section she'll be assigned to, but with that such commotion at an early hour she entirely forgot to ask her savior where it is. She just let the chance pass her.

And so before it goes late, "Matte kudasai!" she called him. "S-sumimasen, but would it be kind of you if you could point to me the Principal's Office?"

It was a good thing that he still heard her despite being a few inches away. "It's on the main building! Ground floor, Room 101! Take the right wing as you enter there and just find the sign!" and he eventually disappeared at her sight.

Thought it's a bit late, Kaya still managed to thank him. After that she immediately did as he told her as she went to the school's main building. As she passed through the right wing, that fateful encounter never fade in her innocent mind, not about what happened to her in the hands of those two jerks, but about that mysterous grouch-faced boy in a green bandanna and in a jersey of a certain sportsclub. Her beating heart and blushing cheeks didn't cease at all because of that bittersweet incident that both of them didn't expect. And maybe, she will bring those memories forever in her heart until she grows up.

_My first kiss ever...from my weird knight-in-shining-armor..._

-*_*-

_Kaidoh's POV_

To my hurry I failed to notice that I'm still in my jersey. So when I went straight to the Boys' Washroom (since Oishi-sempai has the keys to the clubhouse) to change, I even can't put my shirt or even my pants properly. I was damn shivering there trying to calm myself, because aside from being almost twenty minutes damn late because of that dubass peach and the others, I also can't take that memory out of my head...

My first kiss.

Damn. I felt so abused there. Or maybe more than that. I'm still shaking back then. Anything I tried to touch or grab, they all fall because of that. My lips can still taste hers after that incident. I really want to wash my mouth over and over again but I can't even approach the sink. I felt a thousand anaesthesia syringes pricking all over my body that I can't move an inch.

I saw myself in the mirror. The redness in my cheeks didn't fade still, or probably it will never will, as I thought, as long as I'm still thinking about what happened to us. I looked like someone with fever. That time I really want to go to the Student Council Office and destroy their door until I could face that pig and throw a tennis ball in his face. After all, having me blacklisted in the school record is far better than seeing him everyday.

But why the hell must Tezuka-buchou give up his seat for some lowlife like Nishidata!? **[1]**

But after that what happened, I can't understand myself why I don't feel disgusted at myself—wait, girls are SUPPOSED to think about that, not boys! It's obvious since girls give more importance to their would-be first kisses than boys, at least that's what I think. Anyway, if that's the case, I'm so darn sure that my conscience won't stop me for the rest of my life. She's so cute, so innocent, and I bet she's never been kissed nor touched. Ugh. And I never saw her before until that time. I'm not the kind of guy who could have a photographic memory but I was very sure I never saw her anywhere inside the campus or even somewhere rather than at school.

Back them I felt like I'm starting to act like my perverted oyaji. Without realizing it myself...I abused her.

It was probably a heavy term for your ears, but that's what I feel and there's nothing you can do about it. It's not that I have a fear of the opposite sex and I rarely socialize (since they think of me as a homicidal guy because of my face!) but at least I have total respect for them. I believe that women are created for the earth's survival and for that they need special care and attention. But after what happened, I felt like anytime I'll be threatened by all the women and the feminists groups and all the human rights activists all over the world.

Fssssssh....!

Well, that's my very first kiss—and I got it from the girl I've never met. She almost sucked all my energy in that accidental kiss and because of that I didn't notice that I'm starting to get slow. For that, I strongly promised to myself that no one—I mean NO ONE will know about what happened. Espacially that peachhead! I really hate it especially at that time Seigaku became the epicenter of rumors and false headlines since Tezuka-buchou voluntarily stepped out of the Council, and since that curly tops became the school paper's Editor-in-Chief. It's a good thing, though, that almost no one was at the school grounds at that time.

Almost all the bad luck in the world happened to me for the past fourteen years in my life. I tripped. I fell in the sewer. I was mistaken for someone. Harassed by almost everyone. I even got amnesia that I don't remember when! But what happened to me on the school grounds with that mysterious girl, happened on the third of February...although people will say that I'm such a lucky bastard to have an accidental kiss from the cutest girl alive I still consider it as a misfortune. I'm a man, but I also consider a first kiss sacred. First of all, to have my first kiss, I want that to happen on a seashore, facing the sunset, and my only love at my side and we're walking together. I also want myself to make the first move. I also want to make sure that I'm clean from head to toe and my breath's fresh. But I know that's too darn impossible, I mean, come on, can you judge it through my lifestyle and my reputation at school?

Aside from that...my first kiss was already reserved for the person who owns this necklace.

Because of that, I'm afraid I can't show my face to everyone the next day. I felt like I want to cut class for a while, at least just that day, but what the heck, Math was our first subject and there'll be a graded recitation. Aside from that, that Darbus has a powerful radar on who escaped in his class and who's not paying attention. What a beautiful day.

-*_*-

_BS's POV_

The school quadrangle's already empty since most of the students have attended their first period. All that's left are scattered pieces of trash in every variety—papers, candy wrappers, sandwich bags, softdrink cans, and dried leaves. No trace of that morning incident, but...

It seems that Kaya forgetfully left one piece of evidence—if you could call it one.

A girl student picked the said evidence: a picture of Kaya adorned with little pink paper hearts. She noticed the short but messy dedication at the back of the picture. It was full of grammatical errors and even unreadable words being smeared with blue ink. The signature looks like a mark from Zorro's lasso.

The girl smirked at her discovery. She immediately put it in her pocket and went away. No one knows what she will do to the said picture.

-*_*-

"I'm really sorry, Kouchou," **[2]** Kaya bowed regretfully when she finally made it to the Principal's Office. "I got lost on my way...and also, the Council President blocked me..."

"Is it Nishidata?" Seigaku's gentle Principal, Ishikawa Hiroyuki, guessed. "Oh, forget about him. He's the son of our Vice-Chairman, that's why he acts like that. Don't worry, I'll talk to him as soon as possible."

"Arigato," she bowed, "and I'm so sorry again. I should made it earlier..."

"It's okay, dear. After all, you're still new in this school. But of course, I won't tolerate your tardiness anymore the next time it happens."

"Thank you, Sir!" she bowed again. "Demo...although I'm new here, it's not right if you'll just pass what I did today—ah, I mean, starting today I'm officially a student of Seigaku, right?"

She's so modest!

"Uh...y-yes, I guess you're right—W-wait a minute, why are you saying that? Are you trying to get past me?"

"W-what? N-no, Sir! It's not..."

"Oh, anuway," he calmed the girl, "I see you're a nice girl. I can also see that you'll enjoy the rest of your months here in Seigaku."

"I will! And I'll do my best!"

"Hanaguchi-san," the Principal called one of his men. One gentleman in glasses approached the two. "I'll leave Yamamoto-san in your capable hands."

"Yes, Mr. Principal," the man replied.

"Yamamoto-san, this is our Vice-Principal, Hanaguchi-san. He'll accompany you to your class since right at this moment the first period's already starting."

"Hai! Arigato gozaimashita!" and the two left the office.

They passed two floors before they reached the Juniors' territory. They passed three doors before they finally reached her designated classroom. No trace of anxiety can be seen at her face being so busy sightseeing the floor's veranda where she can see clearly one part of the tennis courts on the left side of where she was standing.

At least her tardiness has been paid with a handsome price.

"Are you excited, Yamamoto-san?" the Vice-Principal asked her.

"H-hai!"

"Glad to hear that," until they finally reached the fourth door. Kaya looked at the sign hanging beside the door as she checked her class card...

Year 2 Class 7. She guessed this is it.

Hanaguchi knocked the door four times before the teacher-in-charge opened it for them. He was the period teacher in his gray suit, with white poloshirt inside, wearing a PINK necktie, with a deformed face, almost-neatly combed hair if not for one stubborn strand at the top, and obviously a homosexual snob.

And Kaya's first impression of her new teacher was nothing out of ordinary.

"Yes, Hanaguchi-san?" and the teacher's voice is evidently feminine and snobbish.

"Sorry if we're disturbing your class," the Vice-Principal apologized.

"Which you already did," his eyebrow twitched. Kaya could already guessed that she will fall into the hands of a certain terror teacher.

"Anyway, there's someone I'd like you to take care of from now on," and he showed the new girl to him.

"Who is she?"

While the interrogation went on, Kaidoh managed to sneak in without his teacher's notice. He didn't also noticed who the teacher talked to being in a rush (and good thing he still managed to change into his school uniform because his teacher won't let him enter in his jersey for the rest of the day.).

Kaya noticed who just came in, but she only managed to see its indoor shoes.

Anyway, "This is Yamamoto Kaoru-san," the Vice-Principal introduced the new student to the adviser. "She underwent homeschool before she enrolled here. Her grades has reached the standards to continue her second year."

"But the schoolyear's about to end," the teacher said. "Why is it only now that she enrolled? She's lucky the Principal allowed that. Anyway," he peeked at his waiting students, "wait for a while. I have to confirm this first to the students."

"Please take care of her," Hanaguchi asked. "Yamamoto-san, I wish you luck of your first day."

"Hai! Arigato!" the new student bowed and the Vice-Principal then left her in the capable hands of her new adviser.

-*_*-

_Kaidoh's POV_

"It seems that you're twenty minutes late, Kaidoh-san," I just knew it. "However, you're just in time to know your new classmate, so be seated for a while. Enjoy some minutes in your seat before I could give you your punishment afterwards..."

I was a bit surprised when I heard Darbus that he's going to introduce to us a new classmate. It was surprising because it's the last term of the schoolyear and someone caught up for early enrolment that he or she ended up in our section. I just seated at my desk still wondering who could tha be, though that was just only temporary since that homo will give me some spanking after the introduction (thanks to them! Fssssh...!).

And speaking of new classmate, that incident came back to my senses again. I unconsciously remembered the girl I saved—and accidentally kissed me. I shook my head, hoping that she's not the one whom our teacher will introduce to us. Cause if that happens...

"Come..."

It's my doom.

It never happened what I wanted to expect. She's the one, and no other, who was introduced as our new classmate. My body suddenly stopped moving and I completely turned into a rock upon seeing her—since I still can't forget that incident that morning.

Nor I can't say if I would be happy or not.

Most of the boys in my class were immediately stunned and blushed and even some drooled (probably thinking some damn dirty thoughts about her) and slapped themselves seeing such an angel or a goddess, or a princess appeared to them, well I admit she's so cute. I also noticed some girls wispering to each other, surely something about only their kind can understand, after all I don't have that ability to read a girl's thoughts. Above all, I don't care anymore.

Darbus wrote the girl's name on the board...which gave me a flat surprise.

"Ok, class...she'll be your classmate until the end of the schoolyear. I would like to introduce to you...

Yamamoto Kaoru-san."

When he mentioned her name I was transported back to that time...when I first met the girl who owns this necklace. But I managed to snap back thinking that I'm already that pathetic to connect the new girl to the girl I once knew. Besides...

There are many people in Japan who has the same name as she has. And I'm one of them.

--*_*--

"Come, dear, introduce yourself..."

"Hai!"

I felt sick all of a sudden when she came in. That damn incident didn't go off my brain and my lips, too, and I was damn sure that she also felt the same as I did at that time. But when she faced us, she smiled at us like nothing happened that morning. But surely she's just hiding her true feeling within herself. And I admit she's good at it.

And it will be a major problem the moment she'll recognize my face, despite that I've changed into my school uniform. And if that happens, she'll scream the hell out cursing me in front of the class. I don't have any idea at all why, of all schools she can enrol in, it has to be Seigaku and must be placed in our cursed class.

"Watashi wa Yamamoto Kaoru desu! Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!" **[3]**

I heard my classmates whispering when she introduced herself. What's wrong with that aside from having the same first name as I have?

"Just call me Kaoru. I'm 14 and my birthday's on June 30. I was under privavte tutlege before I decided to enter here..."

Later on oone classmate of mine, a boy, raised his hand. "Wait, so you mean you have the same birthday sa Kaya-chan?"

"Ne, Kaoru-chan," then one girl raised her hand, too, "do you know her? Are you also a fan of hers?"

They were asking such ridiculous questions like she was in the middle of an initiation to be their fraternity member or something. There's nothing I could do about it, since 99.9 percent of our class are solid fans of that singer. The remaining 0.01 percent is me, of course. If that's the case, I can't imagine what will the class react if Yamamoto-san answered 'no'...

But... "Uh...yeah, of course! In fact I'm a HUGE fan of Kaya-chan!"

She failed me.

"If you want, I can lend to you my collection of her CD singles plus I can give you the latest updates about her! Is that okay?"

They all cheered at her offer like they had become her instant friends knowing that she's more than a Kaya-chan superfan having such access and damn collection of her songs which I don't have any idea how she got those. Those doublecrossers, that Darbus almost scolded them for forgetting that we still have a lesson to catch up, but they went on like they didn't hear a thing.

Meanwhile Yamamoto-san kept on noticing me as I'm trying to avoid her as much as possible. There are only two reasons: first, probably she finally noticed me as the most quiet and unsociable in the class; and second, seeing my face, she was actually trying to remember when and where she has seen me, something that I was avoiding to happen.

But someone pushed me to my doom.

"Ain't that coincidence?" and the person at my back pointed at me. "You see, Kaoru-san, there's one lucky guy here who just won in Kaya-chan's raffle yesterday! He's the BIG fan of all BIG fans! He's here! Hey, man, say hi!"

Shit.

My cover's ruined. I was so humiliated that I wanted to kill the person at my back for pointing at me to her. Despite what he did, I was still praying that she won't recognize me that easily since my bandann and my jersey would be my testament enough.

But when Yamamoto-san looked at me, she was a bit shocked like she was trying to remember anything, while I kept on avoiding her like a running criminal. But in due honesty, it's pointless avoiding what is true.

--*_*--

_BS's POV_

And if Yamamoto Kaoru-chan will be asked (or better yet if we just call her Kaya for the rest of the scenes to make it short), she can't believe in herself either. The notion of 'it's a small world after all' is an absolute truth, especially when she found out that the Lucky Fan which was destined to her will be her schoolmate—and most of all, her classmate.

_So he's the one...!_

But thankfully for her unlucky Lucky Fan that she didn't recognize him—yet.

"Why the hell are you pointing me like that!?" Kaidoh yelled at the guy seating on his back. "Don't put me into this, moron!"

At that moment Kaya can't guess what will she feel now that she met her Lucky Fan, nor she doesn't have any idea if she will regret picking his alledged entry or just give a good laugh about his naivete or simply pity him for his inevitable luck. Aside from his face being pickled in 100 percent pure vinegar for almost a lifetime, he also easily gets irriatated like a sensitive mine that can explode diabolically even if it only be touched by a feather, thus she just chose to believe that this demon-faced guy is just one of over thousands of her fans who sent his poorly-made postcard with lots of grammatical errors and erasures. She even guessed that this guy probably just asked one of his friends to make one postcard for him because of his shyness, or worse, someone set him up and he is clueless about it.

But she just scratched her cheek noticing the troubled guy blushing heavily which made her cheeks also blushed, something that she, herself, cannot explain why.

"Ne, Kaoru-chan, aside from Kaya-chan, what else do you like?"

"Do you play any sport?"

"Whay type of guy do you like?"

"Class, settle down!" the teacher halted them. "Just ask one by one!"

Those questions were sounded demanding that they wanted an answer right away. Kaya felt that she's in a mini-press conference, except that the students were the ones asking such showbiz-oriented questions. But being a celebrity who can handle such situations as this, Kaya gladly answered each of them. After all, most of the questions sounded interesting...

"Sou...I love blueberries. I'm also into fastfood but I'm a bit allergic to pork. Aside from Kaya, I also like the Rockafellers **[4]**. I'm also into pop, hiphop, RnB and alternative rock. I want to have a cat or a dog for a pet, but since I have chronic asthma, I just can't, but once we have a St. Bernard puppy but sadly he was poisoned. And about if I play one particular sport," and she thought for a while...

"I'm once in a tennis team back in my old school..."

The whole class were surprised. "You play tennis!?"

"Then you've just come to the right school!" one girl snapped.

"And to the right class, too!" said one boy on Kaidoh's back. "Our Kaidoh here's a member of our tennis club! You can ask him if you want to join..."

The stupid classmate just blew it.

"Why're y' pointing me!?" shouted the poor mamushi. "I'm not a member of the Girl's Tennis, y'know!"

"Don't be so naive, man! So who's Sohma-kun, then? And Lili Chuu? Hota? They're from your team, right?"

"They're from the GIRLS' tennis club and they're from another class..."

"He-he, sorry for this guy here, he's not this shy as you think, it just happened that..."

"Who says I'm shy!?"

"He's not just a shy guy, he's a modest one! But he knows a lot of people from the Girls' Team so you'll have no problems--"

"Just shut up."

Well, his cover has been blown out, no thanks to his loudmouthed parasite at his back and the cute neophiye already knows that he's a member of the school's prestigeous tennis club. And the reason is, undoubtedly, that incident this morning. He's in his Regular's jersey and in his trademark green bandanna. It would be all right if Kaya would have a hard time guessing which sportsclub has that kind of jersey so that Kaidoh will still be saved from the upcoming humiliation. But now that she knows everything, especially when the sour-faced teen noticed the girl's cheeks glowing red...

He has to say goodbye to his pride.

"Class," the homo teacher kept on looking at his wristwatch, "aren't you aware what time is it now? You're almost spent our period only by interviewing her--!"

"Wait, Sensei," one girl raised her hand. "She haven't answered the last question yet!"

There's yet one question remaining.

"Kaoru-san...what type of guy do you prefer?"

The question sounded like a typical one she answers from her guestings at different talk shows. Kaya just can't but to blush again (which made the guys—except Kaidoh—sighed at her utmost kawaiiness) from that question. For that...

Her memory about her very first friend came across her mind.

"Hmm...what I like for a guy..." so she answered just like most celebrities do. "I like a guy with a strong principle. One who is industrious, diligent, can protect me at all times, can face everything and anything... and most of all, I like a guy with a never-say-die attitude!"

Whispers were heard upon hearing her answer. Hers were not as cheesy as they thought, at least she made her fans contented at her answer. But noting the little viper gain in his reddest face ever, she can't help but to wonder (thinking that he's the one she was mentioning because of her semi-obvious answers) and to worry about him (since his face blushed a number of times since she came that might lead him to too much blood rush).

And their gay teacher was so annoyed that he can't wait for the mini-presscon to be over. "Anything else you want to ask about her? Make it quick, we only have thirty minutes and we still have to catch up for the lesson!"

He's right. Kaya almost spent half of the period only for introduction that she almost forgot that they're still in the middle of their Math class when she came. So it was best for her to give way or someone will be rushed to the infirmary.

"None?" he checked again. "Good," and it was finally over—but, "Ah, before we continue," and he looked at the newbie, "Yamamoto-kun, since you came here TWENTY minutes late, I'm afraid you cannot join in my class yet. You have to stay outside till the first period is over."

He garnered several negative reactions from the class. For them it seems so unfair to give someone who was just new a punishment only because she's several minutes late. However...

"—This is to show everyone that in this class we don't tolerate latecomers, disregarding their satus if they're just new or they're already been a 'institution' to this class. You see, dear, I treat my students equally and I don't acknowledge even they're sons of the founders of this school or of the Prime Minister, himself. And you should know that since from this day forward, you're now a student of Seishun Gakuen so you have to fit yourself in the rules implementing here. Do I make myself clear?"

"H-hai..Sensei..."

The class engulfed in weird silence. None of them tried to contradict anymore since they cannot do anything about it, especially if their adviser begins to talk. None of them can't rebel or their grades will dump them otherwise.

But if there's one person in this class who cannot tolerate such treatment, he's just somewhere looking at the terror teacher with such deadly eyes, waiting for the time to come...

"But don't worry, you're not alone," and he called out, "Kaidoh-kun!"

"H-hai...?"

"It seems that you're comfortable sitting there like you already forgot what you did to day. You thought I'll just let that pass, don't you?"

He felt he's been gunned in his head.

And so in the end, despite that they made it in class, the law of a certain Darbus-san still prevailed and the two poor Kaorus—the new girl and her savior who also happened to be a member of the tennis club, her classmate, her Lucky Fan...and her first kiss—were sent out of the classroom and spent the rest of the period with a bucket of water each to bear. She's with his classmate, who bears the same name as hers, whom he was called 'the weird knight-in-shining-armor' at first. From there, our little idol has just realized that this is just the beginning of her complicated life at a student of Seishun Gakuen Middle School.

--*_*--

_Kaidoh's POV_

We've been both kicked out by that weird teacher outside the classroom being twenty minutes late. We're also condemned to carry a bucket of water with us while standing at the corridor. And there was only ten minutes left before Math period was over.

As for me, it's no problem at all. Though that was the first time I was so damn late (no thanks to that peach and my own teammates), carrying a bucket of water while standing in the corner was no deal for me, well at least Darbus gave me such a big favor to exercise and not to see his horrid face for ten minutes more. Serves me right for being too shallow believing in such rumors.

But Yamamoto-san was still new in school and yet she got unlucky. It's all that pighead son-of-a-pig's fault. Nor I don't have any idea what she did that made Nishidata Junior pick her. Aside from that...

It's also my fault for dragging her in the ordeal. If I just avoided her lips, at least my dignity and hers will be spared.

When I noticed Yamamoto-san, it seems like she was having difficulty carrying her own bucket of water. She just said before she's a member of her old school's tennis club, but since then she wasn't able to train herself due to her asthma that's why she felt complaining about the bucket.

What a beautiful way to start her first day. Damn she doesn't deserve it in the first place.

Then I just noticed that we're the only ones standing outside, so I can't carry myself on what I should say to her. But then I realized that talking during a certain punishment was not allowed especially during Darbus' class. That's boring. For that I can't explain to her what happened during that morning. It would be the end of poor old me if I would still bother opening that issue. Besides, my only hope was that she could not remember anything about it at all.

"Gomen..."

She spoke first. I was a bit surprised why she apologized while, summarizing everything, she didn't do anything wrong in the first place.

"You've been late because of me. And also..."

She looks so pitiful to me. I really hate people who apologizes for something they didn't do at all. I just can't understand what those kind of people are trying to convene.

"It'll still useless if I didn't see you at first," I just answered. "I'll still be late for seven minutes. Our adviser doesn't tolerate even the slightest tardiness. Even you're late for a millisecond he'll still send you out to rot."

"Son na! You mean he's that strict!?"

"You're just not that lucky to be put in our class."

Silence filled the whole corridor again, since there's nothing to talk about and there's no reason to talk during our punishment because there are some things that are so sensitive it musn't meant to talk about. But then I gradually realized that I'm starting to pity her, especially when she was trying to talk about what happened that damn morning. She finally reckoned that I was the one who accidentally kissed her. I was so ashamed of her and myself that I felt like filling myself with barrels of Inui-sempai's vegetable juices to atone to what I did. But really, it's all that piglet's fault!

"It's not your fault," I said.

"Huh?"

"If...if I only came early, I might help you from those thugs. And also..."

"That time...when we kissed by accident..."

I felt like Momoshiro just threw a ball at my head. She really remembered it at all. That's no good.

"Daijoubu. We'll just think that it didn't happen."

"Easy for you to say."

"But why? Don't tell me...that's you first kiss!"

Now I felt that Echizen suddenly threw a racket on my head. I don't know how she had guessed it, but frankly I didn't like the way she asked me that. She has some nerve for a newcomer.

"You still don't know me much," I glared at her. "If you want me to be good to you, try to avoid asking me such things that you're not allowed to know."

I almost forgot that I'm talking to a GIRL. I even abruptly scared her. Probably being ticked off by those incidents I even glared at the innocent like her. For that...

"G...g-go...gomen... I just can't stop my mouth," she moved back with fear. "I'll just keep myself quiet..."

She apologized again. I don't know if she's trying to win me by pitying herself or it's just natural for her to look pitiful. She seemed so scared at making mistakes like she has a certain trauma on males, that's probably the reason she kept on apologizing to me.

I felt like a total loser for what I just did. "G-gomen...I don't mean to scare you..."

"But you have a point there. We still don't know each other that much. It was only not that we met. Who am I to know such things that I know it's private..."

"Frankly," I finally admit, "it's my first kiss."

"Oh..."

After admitting to her about it, I can't tell myself if I'm relieved or it just tuned worse. I felt like being interviewed for a talk show.

"Hot 'bout you?" I returned the question.

She hesitated at first if she'll answer it or not, but, "Y-yeah...that's also my first kiss." She even blushed. Fsssssh....

"But why it doesn't seem bothering you at all?"

"That's not it. Of course, a first kiss is important for a girl's life, just like an initiation to be a woman or something. But it's useless to cry over a spilled milk if that already happened, you can't do anything no matter how much you wanted to avoid it in the first place."

She has a point there. I'm a man yet I was acting like a victim here (which was half-truth) only because I was kissed for the first time—in my lips! That was hell embarassing, not because I was kissed by a girl I've just met once, but because I was awed by her strength to bear it. Beats me.

"Anyhow," I said, "it's still not right. It's that Nishidata pig's fault in the first place."

"Nishidata?"

"That big tuck of lard with his zombie bodyguard who harassed you this morning. He's the junior of that Vice-Chairman bastard, so it's normal for him to do what he wants here, but he even doesn't know how to punch a kid. And believe it or not, he's our Council President since November this year."

"Sou ka... Demo, what happened to your former President?"

"...He resigned without saying anything to us. For that I just can't help but to suspect that Vice-Chairman bastard but I don't have enough evidence to prove that he's the one behind all this."

"I see..."

And since I started it, I thought it would be better for Yamamoto-san to know everything about Seigaku's biggest dilema in almost 80 years **[5]** of its existence.

It has been three months then since Tezuka-buchou forced to resign to presidency for reasons that until that February he didn't tell us. I'm strongly convinced, then, that the Nishidatas were all behind those scheme. It was also November of that year when our former class adviser left for her maternity leave then Darbus replaced here. Since then she didn't came back from her allotted two-week absence. Ever since that homo became our adviser, our moves were not as free as ever. Everything is dictated. Everyone must obey—whether we like it or not—or our grades will be the price. Or worse, our names will appear in the administration blacklist if we made a slight mistake, or sometimes if we didn't do anything at all. Darbus has a big connection to the Vice-Chairman himself and for that he has some kind of protection which no one, not even his co-teachers can question, something which has become more suspicious in my nose. All of these were told by none other than Oishi-sempai himself, being the current vice-president of the Student Council—at least the remaining member who cares a lot for his fellow students.

My suspicions began to arouse when our former adviser, Odagiri-sensei **[6]**, didn't show up after her supposed-to-be two-week leave. All we knew then was she only left for her pregnancy for her first baby (she married only a year ago, Inui-sempai said). A week after she didn't show up, Ishikawa-kouchou suddenly came to our classroom with Darbus and told us that Odagiri-sensei will no longer handle us starting that day, giving the position to that raisin-faced teacher. What makes it more suspicious was that Odagiri-sensei is a known Nishidata critic because of his advocacy of bringing back conservatism and tradition to the school which opposes Odagiri's and others' point of view. Because of their strong opposition to that pig's views, many of them were sacked from their jobs, well some were forced to resign, and that includes her, I regret to say. I know her. She won't resign without reason. She loves teaching and Seigaku more than anything, at least that's what I believe—unless someone forced her to do so, and whatever that reason was, I'm so darn sure that Nishidata knows best.

Oishi-sempai also told us that only a few teachers and employees were left to fight for Seigaku since Odagiri-sensei disappeared, if you could also count those from the elementary and high school. Among them were Ryuzaki-sensei, Oishi-sempai and Tezuka-buchou. I won't count the Principal because I feared then that he'll also be a dog of Nishidata in no time. As for the others, I can't help but to be scared for them. They might end up disappeared like Odagiri-sensei, too.

Well, that swine's not alone, since he can't do all of these scams without the help of his 'friends', and Darbus was sure one of them. Aside from those two, I also suspect the Vice-Principal, some teachers and members of the high-and-mighty Administration that I won't mention their names for convenience, and most especially, the Big Belly himself, the Chairman. At that time he wasn't in Japan. He was overseas for a series of conferences which was started October of that year. He has a granddaughter who was equally-flambuoyant and sickening as he is, I think. She's my classmate, then, yet already the editor-in-chief of our school newspaper which lost its known reputation since she came into power. There were no senior members left to take care of the guild so she voluntarily took over. Since she became active in spreading weird rumors about other students and teachers and employees which mostly led to their expulsion, many students suddenly turned themselves to Nishidata's cause just to be protected. Bunch of bastards.

Since that day, the entire Seishun Gakuen suffered for three months of tyranny under that Vice-chairman lard and his equally-greasy minions. But when it comes to their true intentions, I have no idea. That was only the information Oishi-sempai got. But from there, I started to get speculative, something that I never felt for the past two years of my stay at Seigaku.

I didn't tell Yamamoto-san everything. I don't want to shock her that might that might lead her to step back and transfer to another school. I don't want to spoil her hopes of going to Seigaku, I'm sure she has some reasons to be here. But it was so sick to see her being a victim of insane injustice in this school on her first day. Besides, the first time I saw her, I knew that she really wanted to go here, something that I really want to know why.

"Ano...Kaidoh-kun, right?" she asked me.

"Ah."

"Thanks about earlier."

It only made me not to look at her big eyes, she still thanked me despite what happened that morning. "I just did what's right."

She suddenly chuckled.

"What?"

"Nandemo nai **[7]**", she excused herself. "You're just too easy to get red. I can't help it, but you're so cute!"

The time she said I'm so cute because I blushed was not funny at all. Honestly, no one dared to tell me that I'm cute—except one time that I saved an old woman's purse by accident. Nor I didn't remember the last time my mom called me cute, I don't want to think about it anymore.

"Anyway," she went on, "how about you? How did you came late aside from what happened earlier?"

"Actually...I've been here as early as eight, or quarter to eight, if not for that peach and his friends. They ruined my day just because I won a certain contest which I never joined in the first place... Something about that singer named Kaya-chan."

"What do you mean? Don't you know her at all?"

"No."

"B-but how---?"

"I don't join such contests especially if I don't know if that will benefit me or my goal to become strong. And I'm not that desperate to be noticed by everyone. I'm not like that guy..."

"W-who? Your enemy at school?"

"Worse than that. He's my worst nightmare."

"Now THAT hurts!"

Speaking of nightmare, I don't have any idea that I was about to be infested again by the same old nightmare—or it might be worse. I also cannot believe we weren't the only ones who were sent out to suffer for the rest of the period, but of all the people, it has to be HIM.

Are we really destined to be rivals and kill each other someday?

But heck at least I wasn't alone after all. Despite what happened he still acted like a victim to a crime he doesn't admit that he did it. "So you, too, eh," I just smirked at him.

"Shut up," he grumbled. "This is ALL yer fault!"

"I'm the one who must say that, moron. If it wasn't for you who made that raffle draw issue I shouldn't be here!"

"I should have been the lucky fan, not you! It's my card, I swear! I was supposed to be my name that Kaya-chan should mentioned!"

"Yeah, right, and I would be happier so that you could stand alone here."

"Well at least I still got lucky—but not at all, dammit!"

"Hn, you're darn pathetic as well as selfish little peach..."

"I just caught by your bad luck sickness."

"Of course if someone I knew much is hovering me around for eternity, no wonder I could get sick..."

"Are you trying to say something?"

"Are you deaf?"

He really stucked into my nerves that I can't stand him. At that time I really wanted to splash him with a bucket of water I was carrying to shut him up.

"Ch-chotto," Yamamoto-san interrupted, "Kaidoh-kun, is he the one who..."

If there was something I feared for Yamamoto's sake, that would be the day that she will meet that peach. I can't imagine what will happen if she will catch his insanity. "There's no reason to know him," I told her. "Believe me, this is for your own good..."

"Don't be rude, man!" he spat at me. "You can't just hide cute girls like her from me for your own sake, be generous once in a while..."

"This is much better than ditching innocents like her in yer schemes."

But he's damn persistent to know her even only in her name. "Hi!"

"H-hi...!" Yamamoto greeted, too. I just crossed my fingers.

"Is this the first time I saw you?"

"Ah...probably, yeah. Actually I'm a new student here..."

"No way! New student? It's a good thing the school let you enrol this early!"

"I'm into homeschooling before I decided to enrol here to finish my second year."

"Sou... Ne, if you're a new student, how come you're with that snake here?"

"Uh...anou...I came late, that's why..."

"Wow, I knew it! You're just not lucky enough to be on that Mamushi's class. You just been landed to the most horrible teacher in Seigaku!"

"Toldcha," I whispered to her. "There's no sense talking to that chimp..."

"But he seems to be nice," the moment she said that, I just slapped myself.

"By the way," and the peach gave his filthy hand to her, "I'm Kaidoh Kaoru's bestfriend slash rival. Momoshiro Takeshi, yoroshiku! Just call me Momo-chan for short."

"And HOW COME we're bestfriends!?" I scolded him.

"H-hi," she took it, darn it. "Y-Yamamoto Kaoru desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!"

"K-Kaoru!?" he was surprised. "Honto ni!? You have the same name as this guy here, what a coincidence! Hmm...or is it...?"

"So what if we have the same name?" I reasoned out. "There are two million people in Japan who has that same name, it's no big deal!" **[8]**

"Why can't you just admit that you're a party pooper?"

"I'm just stating the figures, moron."

"Figures? But I thought you suck in Math?"

"An' how 'bout you? I can't understand your English at all!"

"Uh...anou..." I almost forgot about her, no thanks to that peachhead. "I think it's not right for you to fight here. It won't be good especially if the teachers will see you like this. And Kaidoh-kun," she faced me, "I think Momoshiro-kun (I said just call me Momo-chan, he even corrected her) –I mean, Momo-chan, doesn't have any bad intentions if he wanted to befriend me. He's just exercising his rights."

"Yeah, she's right!" he even seconded.

But heck that's not what I'm trying to say. "See what you did!?" I blamed him. "I really admire your damn ego, I just can't stand it! Now I don't know when you would leave me alone for good or if you still have a plan to do so but you're pissing me off since yesterday!"

"Why? Did I pissed you just by returning yer poor notebook? How I pity you, my friend, for turning that thing that big to smack in your face how ungrateful you are!

"Oishi-sempai's darn right! Why do you have to blabber while returning things that you can even do that without opening yer filthy mouth!"

"Why it has to be ME!?"

"Why're askin' me!? For the record, Momoshiro Takeshi, I'm asking the same damn question a hundred times than you do!"

"So this is turning out to be a competition on who will say 'I'm always me' more in the next year, eh!?"

"You're making everything so complicated that I don't want to compete with you if that will end up as senseless as it is!"

"I should have said those things a long time ago, you just grabbed it first!"

"Then why don't you just leave me alone and bother someone else instead—like Echizen?"

"And why are you including innocents? And why the hell must be Echizen, he's actually worse than you for being so numb—you should be thankful!"

"Never mind. There's nothing to be thankful about except if you'll just disappear forever. Right now."

"You can't make me, dumbo. You can't. We're both in the middle of a punishment, can't you see?"

"That sucks. That's the reason why I keep on telling you to leave me alone. Just look at yourself..."

"This is YOUR fault, snakeboy!"

"Who the hell dragged me into this kind of shame in the first place!?"

"That's it..." then I noticed him putting down one of his buckets and there I instantly understood what he will do next. "You know what," he was really pissed off as if I care, "if only Eiji-sempai didn't pushed me you would probably ended up in a cosmetic surgery, but that would be useless since your face has been that disfigured since the day you were born... If you only knew how much I endured everything since that mishap yesterday! I'm sure convinced you're too desperate to write to her. You're finally shedding yer skin, mamushi..."

"You know what, peachface?" I began to carry my bucket to throw down on his very face, "you're right. If it's not really for Kikumaru-sempai you might have forgotten that you exist in this world."

"Let's do this, then..."

"Bring it on, porcupine..."

At that moment there's nothing in my mind but to smack on Momoshiro's pretty damn face that I completely forgot Yamamoto-san. Why he has to be that damn insecured with such small thing aside from being so rude? He has no shame to show his incompetent ass even to people whom he haven't known much yet, and for that he made even the innocents to be dragged by his foolishmess, most especially me. I can't believe how a dork he was!

Nor I even failed to hear her trying to stop us. "Ano..."

"Why don't you bring it on, snakeface?" he was challenging me. Seriously...

"You'll regret the day you were born," I grumbled.

"Oh c'mon, and when was the time I even regretted the day I was born? It was you who should..."

"Shut up. You were even born without a brain. How the heck did you survive?"

"You were also born without even a single brain cell! Along with your stupid pride!"

"Teme..."

"G-guys," she was trying to stop us, "stop it! Don't try anything foolish!"

"Move aside," I said to her. "This doesn't concern you."

"Your boyfriend's right, Yamamoto-san," that peach was really an asshole. "Just move aside and let us deal our problems between ourselves. You don't wanna get yer newly-ironed uniform wet, do you?"

"What didcha say...?" My hand's began to slip on the edges of the bucket I was carrying and it was ready to take the peach down.

"D-demo," Yamamoto's alomst begging us to stop, "Aren't you scared that---"

SPLASH! SPLASH!

"Teachers...might...caught..."

Fssssssh...!

"You...?"

I was surprised when I looked at myself that I'm still fully dry. So is the peach, so I thought he really sucks. We're just the same, as I found out, but then a thought suddenly came to me. If we weren't wet, then who? I immediately looked at Yamamoto-san whose face was still covered with her hands fearing that she might caught wet, too, but fortunately she isn't, that's a relief. But...

We were paled to see two people we damn know...who were soaking wet.

"Kaidoh Kaoru..." Darbus glared at me.

"Momoshiro Takeshi..." then his homeroom teacher.

"I'LL SEE YOU AFTER CLASS!"

BANG!

That's it. The only thing that will make my day that time is to make my teacher mad and I did it—with some unexpected help. Actually we accidentally splashed our teachers who were in a bad time checking at us simultaneously. There I understood why Yamamoto-san was panicking trying to stop us. It was too damn late to realize it.

For that, instead of settling down, "Damn you, peach...this is ALL your fault...!"

"What makes you think so...?" he was glaring at me to death.

"Don't deny it, moron... You're the very reason I came late for the first time in two years!"

"Why're you accusin' me? How 'bout Eiji-sempai and the rest who also made yer day!?"

"I'm not like you who likes to drag other people for yer personal downfall!"

"Good thing I'm not like you who easily gets raged because of Kaya-chan!"

"I don't even know that girl, but don't you even drag her to this!"

"I knew it!"

"What!?"

"The more you deny, the more you admit! I knew you have a hidden feeling for Kaya-chan!"

"That's it, you're dead this time!"

"Ano...guys..." we completely ignored her warning, "they..."

"WHAT!?"

"We've been listening to you the whole time!"

And there I finally noticed that our teachers were still there and we didn't mind being watched by them while we're in a middle of our second round of our (senseless) debate. They almost forgot how wet they were (and Darbus deserved more than that) because of us, so I figured out that we can't get away with another punishment waiting for us and I strongly believed it would be worse than just standing outside carrying pails of water to eternity. Such a shame I felt when I noticed Yamamoto-san...laughing so hard that she can't contain herself. I don't know but somehow I thought she was so cute especially when she laughs, for that I almost want to hide my head inside the bucket to hide my damn shame. Damn that peach.

After that incident, both Yamamoto-san and I didn't able to make for the next subject since Darbus scolded us in the Faculty Room. Man, you can almost hear his voice even you're in the rooftop being at that rage with what happened that he gave us a damn punishment we deserve. And it sucks. It would be okay if I should be the only one deserved to be punished, but no! He even included the innocent Yamamoto-san only because she's there. That's another thing I hate about him: he doesn't have any sense of judgement that he probably doesn't know what that means, nor he doesn't have any consederation at all. And do you know what punishment that eel gave to us?

We're condemned to clean the whole classroom after class hours. Only the two of us. That's just great.

-*00_00*-

**NOTA BENE:**

Meet the new characters:

**[1] **Nishidata—name of two antagonists in this story, actually a father-and-son tandem ala-Sasabe except that they take over the entire Seigaku. The older Nishidata is the school's Vice-Chairman and he took over while the Chairman is out for a business trip. Since he took over great changes happened at Seigaku, among those was the installation of his only son as Tezuka's replacement in the Student Council. More of them will be unfolded soon.

**[6] **Odagiri Hiromi—class 2-7's former adviser but Darbus replaces her when she suddenly resigned. Whatever the reason was and however that happened will soon be unfolded as the story goes...

FOOTNOTES:

**[2] **Kouchou—principal

**[3] **translates into 'Hello, I'm Yamamoto Kaoru. Nice to meet you!' just correct me if my Japanese is wrong, it will be appreciated.

**[4] **I have no idea if they really exist or not but it just popped out of my head. If they are, it will be purely coincidental. Okay, DISCLAIMER if they really exist, I don't own them or it. Just tell me, please...

**[5] **Seigaku was founded in 1925, according to Genius 10.5—or was it 20.5? Damn, please enlighten me up...

**[7] '**It's nothing'

**[8] **I'm no good at Math, but since the name 'Kaoru' is one of the most popular names in Japan, so I thought of that probability. I'm too lazy to research about that...

_NEXT STANZA: Welcome to Seishun Gakuen, home of this year's National Champions. Meet the Girls' Tennis Club for the first time! Let's look on how they work after that grueling National match—but whoe, what does Ryuzaki-sensei know about Odagiri Hiromi that musn't be talked about in campus even in a whisper?_

(**BS:** GOMEN NASAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry if this was posted so late, hu-hu...! I've been busy for some things, worse than that I've been sick for a week! Anyway thanks for waiting TOO long, here it is! Wait for Stanza Four this time, ne? Waaaaaaah......!)


End file.
